List of long marriages
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This is a list of long marriages. It includes only marriages extending over at least 80 years.
Background
A study by Robert and Jeanette Lauer, reported in the Journal of Family Issues, conducted on 40 sets of spouses married for at least 50 years, concluded that the long-term married couples received high scores on the Lock-Wallace marital satisfaction test and were closely aligned on how their marriages were doing.{{Cite journal|last1=Lauer|first1=Robert H.|last2=Lauer|first2=Jeanette C.|date=1 December 1986|title=Factors in Long-Term Marriages|journal=Journal of Family Issues|volume=7|issue=4|pages=382–390|doi=10.1177/019251386007004003|pmid=12280519|s2cid=28822228 }} In a 1979 study on about 55 couples in marriages with an average length of 55.5 years, couples said their marriages lasted so long because of mutual devotion and special regard for each other. Couples who have been married for a long time have a lower likelihood of divorcing because "common economic interests and friendship networks increase over time" and during stress can assist in sustaining the relationship.{{Cite book|last1=Lamanna|first1=Mary Ann|last2=Riedmann|first2=Agnes|date=2012|title=Marriages, Families, and Relationships: Making Choices in a Diverse Society|edition=11|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=heu0KLoVVnMC&pg=PA410|location=Belmont, California|publisher=Cengage|page=410|isbn=978-1-111-30154-5|access-date=17 June 2019}}
Another study found that people in long marriages are wedded to the idea of "marital permanency" in which "They don't see divorce as an option".{{Cite news|last=Antoniades|first=Christina Breda|date=11 February 2016|title=The secret to a long-lasting marriage|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/the-secret-to-a-long-lasting-marriage/2016/02/09/7faefe02-aff8-11e5-9ab0-884d1cc4b33e_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=17 June 2019}} Sociologist Pepper Schwartz, the American Association of Retired Persons's relationships authority, said that it was helpful to have a spouse who is quick to recover when there are surprises in life.
A study of 1,152 couples who had been married for over 50 years found that they attributed their long marriages to faith in each other, love, ability to make concessions, admiration for each other, reliance on each other, children, and strong communication.{{Cite book|last=Alford-Cooper|first=Finnegan|date=1998|title=For Keeps: Marriages That Last a Lifetime|url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781315293370|location=New York|publisher=M. E. Sharpe|page=131|isbn=978-1-315-29337-0|access-date=17 June 2019}} Bowling Green State University (BGSU)'s National Center for Family and Marriage Research found that 7% of American marriages last at least 50 years.
Recording longest marriages
The longest marriage recorded (although not officially recognized) is a granite wedding anniversary (90 years) between Karam and Kartari Chand, who both lived in the United Kingdom, but were married in India. The couple married in 1925, and died in 2016 and 2019, respectively.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-37550268|title=Karam Chand, 110, believed to be longest-married dies|publisher=BBC|date=4 October 2016|access-date=6 September 2020}}{{Cite web|last=Wood|first=Alexandra|url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/tributes-paid-bradfords-oldest-woman-who-died-aged-107-1744588|title=Tributes paid to Bradford's oldest woman who died aged 107 Over the course of her remarkably long life she gave her family "blessings, moral values and togetherness".|newspaper=The Yorkshire Post|date=9 January 2020|access-date=6 September 2020}}
Guinness World Records published its first edition in 1955.{{Cite web|url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/60/through_the_years.html|title=Celebrating 60 Years|website=guinnessworldrecords.com}} In the 1984 to 1998 editions, the longest recorded marriages were between Sir Temulji Bhicaji and Lady Nariman, and Lazarus and Mary Molly Rowe. According to the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, both of them are stated as spanning 86 years.{{Cite book|last=McWhirter|first=Norris|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sBlNAAAAYAAJ&q=guinness+longest+marriage|title=Guinness Book of World Records 1984|publisher=Sterling Publishing Company|via=Google Books|date=18 October 1983|isbn=9780806902562}}{{Cite book|last=Young|first=Mark C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZSyswNFqTycC&q=guinness+longest+marriage|title=The Guinness Book of World Records, 1998|publisher=Bantam Books|via=Google Books|date=18 July 1998|isbn=9780553578959}} Guinness has since recognized couples with longer marriage spans, with the current world record holders (as of 2024) being David and Sarah Hiller. It also keeps record of the oldest married couple by aggregate age.{{Cite web|url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/oldest-married-couple-aggregate-age|title=Oldest married couple, aggregate age|website=Guinness World Records}}
Other organizations have created events where they honor couples with long marriages. In 2011, World Marriage Encounter (WME), an American organization that was responsible for making a World Marriage Day, created a Longest Married Couple Project (LMCP), where they pick a couple with a long marriage and honor them on Valentine's Day.{{cite news|url=https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2015/02/13/cbs-news-will-feature-local-couples-long-marriage-project/23394325/|title=CBS News will feature local couples long marriage project|work=Florida Today|date=13 February 2015|first=Tim|last=Walters}} They have since expanded the awards to representatives in each of the 50 states, although the candidates selected are not necessarily the ones with record-setting marriages.{{Cite web|url=https://thecatholicspirit.com/news/local-news/longest-married-couple-project-award-goes-st-pascal-baylon-couple/|title=Longest Married Couple Project award goes to St. Pascal Baylon couple|date=23 February 2017}} Starting in 2004, the Louisiana Family Forum (LFF) has honored its annual list of long-time married couples in that particular state, beginning with George and Germaine Briant.{{Cite web|url=https://www.daily-review.com/news-local/morgan-city-couples-among-la%E2%80%99s-longest-married|title=Morgan City couples among La.'s longest married|website=St. Mary Now|date=14 February 2019|access-date=18 July 2019|archive-date=26 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926082234/https://www.daily-review.com/news-local/morgan-city-couples-among-la%E2%80%99s-longest-married|url-status=dead}}
List of marriages reported to (have) be(en) 80 years or more
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{{legend2|#F9F9F9|At least one spouse is deceased|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
{{legend2|#99FF99|Both spouses are (most likely) still living|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
{{legend2|#E9B06B|Disputed and/or unverified|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
Notes
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References
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