From love at first sight to ‘tough' times: Jimmy Carter and wife Rosalynn’s marriage is a tale for ages as they celebrate 76th Valentine’s together
PLAINS, GEORGIA: Former president of the US, Jimmy Carter, may have cut himself out from politics and the public eye, but he’s still romantic and his love for his wife of over decades is blossoming. Jimmy and Rosalynn have been married since 1946 and recently the pair celebrated their 76th Valentine’s together.
The Carter Center shared a photo of the couple on the occasion on its Facebook page with a caption that said, “Happy Valentine’s Day! The Carters will celebrate 77 years married this July. President Carter has said marrying Rosalynn is ‘the pinnacle of my life'.”
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‘76 wonderful years’
The Jimmy Carter National Historical Park also celebrated the duo’s love via a post on its Instagram page. Sharing a throwback image of the Carters, the museum wrote, “Happy Valentines Day to the couple that means the world to us! For 76 wonderful years, these two lovebirds have been at each other's side through it all. We hope they have a magnificent day together!”
While Jimmy Carter Presidential Library tweeted, “#HappyValentinesDay!!! On 2/13/1980 President & Mrs. Carter, with ‘The Fonz’ Henry Winkler & his wife Stacey Weitzman, attended a Valentine's Dance at the White House. Between the two couples, they've been married for over 120 years!!! NAID 843585.”
#HappyValentinesDay!!! On 2/13/1980 President & Mrs. Carter, with "The Fonz" Henry Winkler & his wife Stacey Weitzman, attended a Valentine's Dance at the White House. Between the two couples, they've been married for over 120 years!!! NAID 843585 #CoupleGoals @hwinkler4real pic.twitter.com/jINnud1CpH
— Jimmy Carter Presidential Library (@CarterLibrary) February 14, 2023
‘I just felt compatible with her’
But the love life of Jimmy and Rosalynn has not been without ups and downs. The two first saw each other when they were just children, as per reports. “I first started noticing him when I was thirteen and, I mean, there’s just no relationship between a thirteen-year-old and a sixteen-year-old in that situation,” the 39th first lady told PEOPLE.
While Jimmy shared, “I was cruising around with my sister Ruth and her boyfriend, just looking for a date, and I picked up Rosalynn in front of the Methodist church. I just felt compatible with her. She was beautiful and innocent, and there was a resonance. We rode in the rumble seat of a Ford pickup — Ruth and her boyfriend in the front—and I kissed her on that first date. I remember that vividly,” before stating that the next morning he went to his mother and had decided that “Rosalynn was the one" he wanted to marry.
Education was Rosalynn Carter’s priority
Though Jimmy expressed his love for Rosalynn clearly, she did not accept it. She reportedly revealed, “I was the oldest of four, and my father, who’d never gone to high school, died when I was thirteen. I promised him on his deathbed that I’d go to a four-year college. I graduated from junior college but never had a chance to go back.”
And, in July 1946, the love birds tied the knot. “On our first wedding anniversary, I was in the hospital in Norfolk, having our first child, Jack,” she said. But life threw more challenges at the pair as they entered into family life with four children.
‘It was tough'
In their initial years after the marriage, Jimmy reportedly used to be away from home most of the time because of his military job. He once said, “I was gone at sea most of the time. So she had full responsibility to take care of the household and whatever babies came, to shop for groceries, and pay the bills. When we were first a bride and groom, I never interfered in her decision-making as far as the children were concerned or the household expenses. She had her life, and I had mine.”
His wife had told PEOPLE, “He had a 13-month cruise and I learned to be independent, to make the decisions that someone else had been making for me all my life. I would go get groceries with the baby and get off the bus at the street corner, put the groceries down, run home with the baby, then go back and pick up the groceries. It was tough.”
‘We learned how to work together'
But eventually, things changed when the ex-politician left his military job to handle his father’s farming business. He disclosed, “We began to work together as equals in our business. I would defer to Rosalynn or consult with her before I made any major decisions. We learned how to work together.”
Rosalynn was also by his side when Jimmy ran for president. He reportedly called her his “secret weapon.” The two also understood that “disagreements are inevitable between two strong-willed people.” “We decided early on to give each other plenty of space. If Rosalynn is interested in something, she does it her own way, accepting my help when she needs it. And she gives me plenty of space to work on my own projects but helps me when I need it. We also look for things to do together,” Jimmy had reportedly mentioned.
Romantic rituals in the Carters’ marriage
Jimmy once reportedly noted that whenever there’s any fight or issue between them they do not take it to another day. He noted, “We make up and give each other a kiss before we go to sleep still in bed.[...] So, we try to become completely reconciled each night before we go to sleep.”
Another secret is reading Bible together even if they are not together, PEOPLE reported. The former leader added, “When I'm overseas and Rose is at home, we know we're reading the same biblical text, and even though we're separated physically, it makes us think about the same scripture and admonition from God, direction from God before we go to sleep. So it helps a lot.”