A pair from Southend-on-Sea, England, who is believed to be the world’s longest-married couple with Down syndrome got to celebrate their love for each other with a milestone wedding anniversary this year.
In July 2020, the duo Maryanne, 49, and Tommy Pilling, 62, got to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary and recalled the adorable moment that Tommy proposed to the love of his life with a toy ring from a vending machine.
Tommy popped the question after a year and a half with his sweetheart, but not before asking Maryanne’s mother, Linda, for her blessing. The couple married in a beautiful church ceremony in 1995, and a quarter of a century on, they are still very much in love.
“Tommy and I never argue,” she continued. “I love my husband very much. He is my best friend.”
Maryanne’s sister, Lindi Newman, a 32-year-old full-time carer, praised Tommy and Maryanne for their long relationship. “The fact that they’re still living independently and are doing great together, it’s amazing,” she marveled.
“Some people stare, they assume people with Down syndrome and learning difficulties can’t get married,” Lindi continued, adding that when Tommy and Maryanne walk down the street holding hands, they make a statement, “but in a good way.”
Tommy, however, is facing an escalating battle with dementia since being diagnosed in 2014. The family has rallied round in an effort to ensure that the doting husband and wife can remain living together, even while Tommy’s condition deteriorates.
However, owing to his condition, Tommy doesn’t sleep well, he is increasingly forgetful, and he suffers mood swings. On occasion, he even fails to recognize his wife. But Maryanne, while devastated, is able to forgive her husband when she is reminded of his unreliable memory.
Maryanne, Lindi, and their 69-year-old mother, Linda, help take care of Tommy, as he lost his family at a young age; thus, Maryanne’s became his own.
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