Jimmy Carter, 96, and his wife Rosalynn, 93, will celebrate their 75th anniversary Wednesday, marking the longest marriage in presidential history, according to the Washington Post.
They plan to mark the occasion in Plains, GA, the town where they met decades ago as James Earl Carter Jr. and Eleanor Rosalynn Smith.
“They will probably just sit and hold hands,” the Carters’ friend and neighbor, Jill Stuckey, told the Post.
This weekend more friends and administration officials for the former Democratic president – he served one term from 1977 to 1981 and has since been honored with a Nobel Peace Prize – will come to Plains for a party in the local high school auditorium.
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While the couple has been married for 75 years, their love story goes back to their childhood days as next-door neighbors. In fact, Rosalynn was just a day old when Carter first saw her
Their relationship transformed into a romance during World War II. Carter was on vacation in Plains before his final year at the U.S.
Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, when he saw Rosalynn standing in front of a Methodist church and asked her for a date, even though he already had a beauty queen girlfriend. Rosalynn, who was 17 at the time, admits she already had a crush on him.
The next morning Carter woke up knowing he was going to marry her. It took two proposals, but she eventually said yes.
According to the Post, the partnership continued evolving through the couple’s years together. Carter may have taken on a “father knows best” approach in the 1940s and 50s, but by the time he became president he supported his wife’s efforts to expand the office of first lady. As his wife went from being a homemaker to a strong voice in the Capitol, particularly for mental health issues, President Carter became a champion of gender equality.
“Over the years, we became not only friends and lovers, but partners,” Rosalynn said at Jimmy’s 90th birthday celebration. “He has always thought I could do anything, and because of that, I/we have had some wonderful adventures and challenges.”
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In addition to being political figures, the Carters raised three sons and a daughter.
“Dad started to change when he ran for governor, because Mom was a much better politician than he was,” said their son, Chip Carter. “She cared about him getting elected and reelected, and he cared about the Panama Canal.”
Since leaving the White House, the Carters have been nearly inseparable and have stuck by each other while struggling with medical issues. After moving back to Plains, they raised millions of dollars and traveled the world for the Carter Center, which promotes free, democratic elections, health initiatives for the poor and equality for women, and built Habitat for Humanity houses together.
When they are not focused on these issues, the Carters also enjoy tennis, fly fishing and reading the bible together before bed.
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