A couple who have been happily married for 70 years have shared their words of wisdom on a long and successful relationship.
Childhood sweethearts, Wilfred, 94, and Iris Miles, 89, from Cannock, Staffordshire, England, first met at a dance near Walsall, West Midlands, in the late 1940s. Wilfred said: “I asked her to dance and of course she said yes—thing is, she hasn’t left me alone since!”
The couple can’t remember the proposal that led to seven decades of marital bliss, but Iris said: “He probably just asked me over tea on a Saturday night.”
However, Iris can clearly remember the night she first met her husband and said it was love at first sight.
“I thought, oh yes he’s the one for me and I’ve never wanted anyone else. I’ve loved him all these years,” Iris said.
On March 10, 1951, the couple tied the knot at a local church and had a party at a small cafe. Iris, who used to work as a seamstress, fondly remembers how she made herself a silk and satin dress before they visited Chester on their honeymoon.
The couple said they had ten years together where they enjoyed holidays and did as they pleased.
“Then we bought a business, had the children, and just worked really hard,” Iris said. During their working life, the couple ran a number of businesses, including greengrocers, and would often spend every day together at their shops as well as at home.
Now, the couple have two grown children, Jane, 61, and Robert, 57, and six grandchildren.
Wilfred and Iris have also shared their secret to seven decades of marital bliss. “I still love him, even when he is cranky, I think I would miss his moaning," Iris said. “You have to give a lot and what you give has to be with love. Have lots of patience with each other, work together and be there for each other.”
Meanwhile, Wilfred added: “If you have a difference of opinion, you’ve just got to accept that everyone is different and not fall out and never take it to bed with you, that’s the most important piece of advice I can give anyone, never go to sleep on an argument, that’s no good for anyone.”
Over the years, the couple have also enjoyed holidays and even made sure to visit Australia for Wilfred’s 65th birthday.
They also enjoy seeing family and eating outside at local restaurants, although Wilfred often complains about the cost.
“We do like to eat out, but then you see the bill, anyway, Iris is quite a good cook,” Wilfred said.
At home, Wilfred admits Iris runs the house. “I don’t do much around the house but we muddle along well together. I’ll do the dishes or make the bed if I have to. I do as I’m told,” he shared.
Talking about their long relationship, the couple’s son, Robert, said: “They are not your typical old age couple, they might be hard of hearing but they are both still sharp.
“They make each other laugh and what is more remarkable—the couple have very often been together day and night as they worked together too for 50 odd years.”
He also revealed that the longest time they have spent apart over all these years is just two weeks, and that is quite special.
“They are brilliant but they constantly moan about each other. Dad is always saying ‘I’ve had enough, I’m divorcing her’ but they would be lost without one another,” Robert concluded.
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