Former president Jimmy Carter is the longest-living president in U.S. history. He’s been awarded the United Nations Human Rights Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and even the Nobel Peace Prize. These achievements proceed him, to be sure, but if you asked the former president what he believes his biggest achievement is, he’d likely tell you his marriage to former first lady Rosalynn Carter.
Marrying Rosalynn — Carter has said — was the “most important thing in my life.” In speaking with ABC News in 2021, on the eve of their 75th wedding anniversary, he even shared that after just one date he already knew, “That was the girl I wanted to marry.”
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s marriage remains the longest-married presidential couple in the U.S. Just how long is that exactly?
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter have been married for over seven decades
Before he was president of the United States — before any notable accolades or his reputation as a humanitarian — Jimmy Carter was just a guy head over heels in love with a girl. At the age of 20, he and then 17-year-old Rosalynn went on their very first date together. This was in the summer of 1945. “I just felt compatible with her,” Carter said of his wife in the book What Makes A Marriage Last. “She was beautiful and innocent, and there was a resonance.”
Interestingly enough, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter already knew of each other even before their first date. As it turns out, their parents were good friends and neighbors. Technically, the two met when Jimmy was 3 years old and Rosalynn was just born, according to Biography.com. Not everyone can say they met their soulmate on their first day on Earth, but Jimmy Carter can.
By May 1946, the pair were engaged, and they were married on July 7, 1946. As of this writing, they have been married for 76 years. Unfortunately, due to the former president’s declining health, it is likely they will not make it to their 77th anniversary. For his part, Jimmy Carter is 98 years old and the oldest living president in U.S. history. At 95 years old, Rosalynn is the second-oldest living former first lady behind Bess Truman who passed away at 97 years old.
Their secret to a long, fruitful marriage was best explained by Jimmy Carter in 2021 when he told ABC News the following:
“First of all, choose the right person to marry. And every night, we try to make sure we’re completely reconciled from all the arguments during the day. We also read the bible every night. We’ve done that for 60 years probably.”