Finding Mr & Mrs Right: The once in a lifetime lovers

John and Jane met each other as teenagers on a joint family trip.  John was Jane’s first boyfriend, her first kiss. But with them living on opposite sides of the world, their relationship was cute.  It was temporary and lasted the duration of the holiday.  It was a sweet childhood relationship that they would both look back on fondly as they grew up and became adults.

Over the years, they would write letters to each other.  As adults, they would correspond intermittently, keeping abreast of each other’s lives, their paths never quite crossing, even when they were on the same side of the world.

It wasn’t until they happened to be holidaying in the Philippians at the same time that their paths crossed again.

They arranged to have lunch the first day together, and they just didn’t separate.  John and Jane spent every free minute together.  John integrated himself into Jane’s family, being there alone.

Four days after they first reconciled, driving to the beach, John asked Jane if she would marry him.  Jane, thinking that John was joking, said yes.

Six days after the beach, Jane was on the phone to her mother, John got on the line, and asked her for Jane’s hand in marriage.  Jane’s mother was ecstatic, John was her husband’s best friend’s son, and she remembered them hoping that the kids would end up together one day.

Jane was stunned, she asked John if he was sure.

John was sure.  It had always been Jane.  It had been Jane when he was 14 and she 12, and as far as he was concerned, it will always be Jane.  He had compared every girl and woman he had ever dated to Jane, and they all fell short.  He couldn’t commit to anyone else, irrespective of how great they were, because he had fallen in love when he was fourteen, and nothing compared.

It was the same for Jane.  She had harboured feelings for John her whole life after meeting him, but thought it was impossible for them to be together, with him being on the other side of world.  She had been jealous of his girlfriends, and would make dismissive remarks on their suitability over the years.  Something John was familiar with doing himself.

John had even driven all over Europe trying to catch up with Jane when she was there travelling with friends as a right of passage years earlier.  And he would miss her by a day in various cities.

Jane had fantasies of them ‘bumping’ into each other in Europe, and was disappointed that he was out at sea when she was in his city.

John and Jane married each other a few days after they had spoken to Jane’s mother.  It wasn’t a showy affair, it was a simple one.  They were married in a world record attempt in a football stadium.  It was not about the wedding, it was about being in love and married.

And with that, they have committed to each other.  John gave up his post in the Navy and moved to be with Jane.

A marriage and partnership where there is no resentment, no distrust.  A relationship that is just a happy one.  They have two beautiful children together, and are just happy being in each other’s company.  They’re devoted to each other and their family together.

They’re a simple couple, and are just one of those couples you want to be around as a single person.  They give me hope of true love and that there are people who are meant to be together.  There are people who are just destined to be together.

When I was in a relationship, I would feel my relationship would fall short and lacked the romance and love that was evident with John and Jane.  They were so comfortable with each other, and they just worked well as a team.

I can only imagine how they would make unhappily married couples feel about their relationship, knowing that what they had were so far inferior to what John and Jane had.

Their want in life is not to be rich and incredibly successful, they just want to raise their family and go about their life together.  And with that goal, they are able to achieve it and live a happy life together.

Seven years have now passed, and theirs is still a newly wed relationship.  I hope their honeymoon phase never ends, John and Jane give me hope that relationships don’t need to be hard work.  They can be perfect whilst being imperfect.