Marriage built to last: Jimmy, Rosalynn Carter mark 77th anniversary
ATLANTA – Numbers don’t lie. Especially when they are so beautiful.
On Friday, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter reached their 77th wedding anniversary.
The Georgia couple, who famously served as president of the United States and first lady, will celebrate quietly.
“The family is keeping a low profile around the anniversary this year,” said Matthew De Galan, spokesman for the Carter Center. “President Carter and Mrs. Carter will celebrate their 77th wedding anniversary privately at their home in Plains tomorrow along with family members.”
On July 7, 1946, when a 21-year-old U.S. Naval Academy graduate married the 18-year-old salutatorian of Plains High School, who could have imagined that it could last that long? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 6% of married couples make it to even 50 years.
The Carters are the longest-married presidential couple in U.S. history, followed by former President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush, who were married for 73 years and 102 days until Barbara’s 2018 death.
To put the Carters in perspective, the Obamas, who wed in 1992, would have to stay married until 2069 to catch them.
The Carters have survived through a Georgia governorship, a presidency, a Nobel Peace Prize, building their Atlanta-based nonprofit Carter Center, eradicating diseases and now their biggest challenge – failing health.
Jimmy Carter, 98, went into home hospice care in February. In May, the family revealed that 95-year-old Rosalynn Carter has dementia.
Two years ago, to mark their 75th wedding anniversary, the couple invited hundreds of guests to a bash at their local high school. Among those who came to the tiny rural town to fete the Carters were former President Bill Clinton and country music star Garth Brooks.
Last year, on their 76th anniversary, they spent a quiet afternoon in their hometown with family, friends and ice cream.
Jill Stuckey, superintendent of the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in Plains, said the museum had nothing special planned to mark the anniversary this year. At the Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta, Tony Clark said that a card would be available for visitors to sign.