After spending the better part of six decades apart, two teenage sweethearts have finally married. The couple first wanted to spend the rest of their lives together back in 1963, but their parents refused to let them marry because they did not want them to unify their families. Now that they are nearly eighty years old, Len Albrighton, 79, and his 78-year-old sweetheart Jeanette Steer finally said their wedding vows after they were first engaged to be wed back in the 1960s when they met as trainee nurses on the Isle of Wight and made plans to move to Australia to begin their lives together.
However, the age to marry in the United Kingdom was twenty-one at the time. Jeannette was only eighteen, so she needed her parents’ consent to marry Len, who was nineteen. They refused to give her permission to marry the love of her life, so the wedding was off, and the pair were separated for six decades.
Len decided to fulfill his dream of leaving the United Kingdom for Australia since he was never happy with Britain. However, the couple never fully lost touch with one another. And over the course of sixty years, they managed to get back in touch and have finally found their way back into each other’s lives. They have since married and have been living in Stevenage, Herts, Australia, and life is nothing short of “fantastic” for the love birds.
Back in the 1960s, Jeannette’s parents stopped her from marrying Len. Since he had already moved to Australia, the wedding was off, and he was alone Down Under and forced to fend for himself without his bride. He received the letter from his heartbroken bride and was distraught, having learned that her parents refused to let her marry him and uproot her life and move across the world to marry him and live with him in Australia.
In the six decades, they spent apart, Len and Jeannette built their own families and lives. Len married another woman in Australia and built a house on a plot of land that he had originally purchased for himself and Jeannette. He became a father of three.
Meanwhile, Jeanette stayed on the Isle of Wight, where she and Len had grown up. She married a naval officer and had two children. She led a successful career in the nursing field.
Len’s marriage ended in 2015. He decided to see if his old flame was still around. He sought out Jeanette and traveled to the Isle of Wight to track her down.
“I was daunted not knowing what her reaction would be or if I would even see her. I went on the off chance. It was not an easy place to find, but I did. I just hoped she was ok- I didn’t expect anything else. I’m very surprised by the outcome of my trip down there and very happy too!”
Two years after their surprise reunion, Jeanette’s husband died. Len swooped right in, and the pair were happily married six decades after their first attempt!
“Married life is fantastic- it couldn’t be better,” Jeanette said. “It’s nice to have someone who treats me with respect. I like doing everything and anything with Len.”