Mandy and Jessie both didn't immediately warm to their husbands when they first met them - but they grew close and ended up having happy marriages. They told me how they were initially won over, about some of the flashpoints in their relationships, and the difficulties of looking after a partner who is very ill.  

Mary and John met at a Conservative Party dance in Ashford in the 1950s - and for much of their lives their relationship was fairly straightforward. Mary worked for the Civil Service and then as a welfare visitor on Romney Marsh. John worked for car and van dealerships in Maidstone and Ashford. Now in their retirement, their relationship is undergoing major challenge as John has become blind and has dementia. 

Brian and Eileen have been married for over 60 years, having met while Eileen was working at a children's home in Ashbourne in Derbyshire. Their relationship had a very surprising beginning  but flourished both as a romantic and working partnership. Eileen began by explaining the rather rapid moves that Brian made in those early days.

This time Jasper Bouverie talks to Dawn and Christine at Age UK Herne Bay and Whitstable. Both of them married young, got divorced and then married again. Their second marriages have been more successful, lasting over 50 years and still going strong. Dawn began by explaining where she met her second husband.

This time Jasper Bouverie talks to Pat and Allan at Age UK Herne Bay and Whitstable. Both of them have worked as lorry drivers, a career that took them away from their partners and their young families. But nevertheless their marriages survived and they’ve both been married for over 50 years. Pat began by talking about the whole concept of love.