Couple Married After 43 Years, Bride's Mom Pressured to End Interracial Relationship

Just a few months ago, Stephen Watts and Jeanne Watts (formerly Gustavson), a couple who got back in touch with their long-lost love after 42 years apart, got married!

At Loyola University in Chicago, where he was a senior and she was a freshman, Jeanne and Stephen first crossed paths in 1971. Jeanne said, "A thousand times yes!" when he proposed to her. In this week's issue's Valentine's Day special, Jeanne, who is now 69 years old, speaks to People. She added, "We're making up for 42 years that were lost."
Jeanne's mother fiercely opposed the relationship because she didn't want her white daughter dating a black man. Jeanne remarked, "She just went ballistic." She had no interest in having this relationship at all.

Couple Married After 43 Years:

Nevertheless, they had a seven-year secret relationship. Jeanne had trouble seeing Stephen after she finished nursing school and got a job that required a long commute and late shifts. They discussed getting married, but Jeanne was hesitant to proceed. Stephen was incomprehensible after hearing the news. Jeanne was troubled by the abrupt conclusion for years to come.

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The following forty years would be spent living separate lives and avoiding one another. Let's fast forward to 2021, when Jeanne was a divorced retiree with a deceased mother. From her home in Cedar Mill, Oregon, she started looking for Stephen, but she couldn't find him on social media.

Jeanne located his niece's address and sent her a letter in April 2021. In response, she informed him that he was in a nursing home.

She called the nursing home and asked for Stephen in May 2021. The staff member answered that patients don't have bedside phones. She wrote him a letter, but she never heard back. She called again, but the nurse said he couldn't talk on the phone.

In late June 2021, Jeanne travelled to Chicago to talk to him in person. Stephen immediately recognised her upon her entrance, called her by name, and began to sob. He decided to move her home to Oregon on August 8, 2021, and he has remained there ever since. He proposed to her a short while later. On October 15, 2022, the couple exchanged vows in front of about 65 guests.