A lot of relationships that have stood the test of time throughout history did not begin from love at first sight, but from years of forging a strong bond built on years of trust, shared laughter, and companionship.
Elizabeth Barrett & Robert Browning
Poet Robert Browning started out as Elizabeth Barrett’s admirer and correspondent who sent her more than 500 letters while she was still confined to bed. Their courtship was solely through mental stimulation, mutual admiration of each other’s work, and brutal honesty via the written word.
This friendship empowered Elizabeth to run away with Robert, reject her tyrannical father, and begin life anew in Italy.
Johnny Cash and June Carter
They first met each other backstage at the Grand Ole Opry in 1956. They toured together for more than ten years and formed an intense, loyal friendship.
June stuck by Johnny’s side through numerous personal hardships, crippling drug addiction, and troubled divorces. Their friendship eventually blossomed into a legendary love story that they shared until their deaths three months apart in 2003.
Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan
Ronald and Nancy Reagan met through the Hollywood film industry in the late 1940s. They initially became friends when Nancy sought out Ronald’s advice after finding her name erroneously attached to a blacklist.
The two grew closer over time, finding they shared values, similar goals, and intellectual and emotional compatibility. They wed in 1952, and their close friendship was said to be a hallmark of their marriage for over five decades.
Harry Truman and Bess Wallace
Harry met Bess while attending Sunday school as young kids. Truman and Wallace were both born and raised in Independence, Missouri, and grew up playing with other children in the neighborhood.
Truman and Wallace were stable and dependable friends for years before Harry had the confidence to ask her out. Their friendship lasted a lifetime, sticking with them through bankruptcy, war, and the White House.
C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman
This legendary novelist and spirited poet began their relationship as fellow intellectuals writing letters to one another. They had been pen pals for years before finally meeting in person as friends.
After learning Davidman was being deported back to the US, Lewis agreed to marry her in a non-romantic, civil union to help her remain in London. However, when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, the two grew closer than ever before and fell madly in love.
Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher
Actors Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher met when they were teenagers on the set of That ’70s Show. They remained friends for many years, each pursuing their own lives and romantic relationships.
Over ten years later, they reunited and found their friendship had grown into something more. They tied the knot in 2015 and frequently comment that years of friendship led to a comfortable foundation.
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter
Jimmy and Rosalynn had known each other their whole lives, growing up in the same Georgia town. The two were friends before they became sweethearts, as Jimmy would visit Rosalynn’s family often as a child.
Their relationship blossomed over the years, and the two were wed in 1946. Together for seven decades, they supported one another through military service, politics, and raising a family while also doing humanitarian work.
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson
Tom met Rita while both were working in television, and became friends while filming Volunteers. Rita and Tom spent long periods together while working on the film and became closer friends than just colleagues.
Soon after, they realized they had fallen in love with each other and were married in 1988. Tom and Rita are considered by many to be one of Hollywood’s strongest couples even today.
Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall
19-year-old Lauren Bacall met 44-year-old Humphrey Bogart on the set of To Have and Have Not. Their playful, casual banter off-camera dissipated the 25-year age difference between them and ignited a fierce chemistry onscreen.
Bogart and Bacall quietly maintained one of Hollywood’s greatest, most devoted marriages until Bogart’s death in 1957.
Marie and Pierre Curie
When Marie Sklodowska was seeking available workspace in Paris, she was introduced to French physicist Pierre Curie through a mutual friend.
The two became scientific partners and close friends, sharing a mutual love for research and Pierre’s morals. After Pierre proposed, the two embarked on a romance that would change science forever.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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