After nearly six decades apart, two teenage sweethearts are finally married. The pair first wanted to spend the rest of their lives together in 1963, but their parents refused to allow them to marry because they did not want their families to be together. Len Albrighton, 79, and his 78-year-old sweetheart Jeanette Steer finally said their wedding vows after becoming engaged in the 1960s when they met as trainee nurses on the Isle of Wight and planned to move to Australia to start their lives together.
However, the marriageable age in the United Kingdom was twenty-one at the time. Jeannette was only 18, so she required her parents’ permission to marry Len, who was nineteen. They refused to give her permission to marry the love of her life, thus the wedding was canceled and the couple was separated for six decades.
Len decided to pursue his ambition of leaving the United Kingdom for Australia since he was unhappy in Britain. However, the couple never completely lost contact with one another. And, after sixty years, they were able to reconnect and reintegrate into each other’s lives. They married and now live in Stevenage, Herts, Australia, where life is “fantastic” for the couple.
In the 1960s, Jeannette’s parents forbade her from marrying Len. Because he had already moved to Australia, the wedding was canceled, leaving him alone Down Under and left to fend for himself without his bride. He was devastated when he received the letter from his sad bride, who informed him that her parents would not allow her to marry him, uproot her life, and move across the world to marry and live with him in Australia.
Len and Jeannette established their own families and lives over the course of six decades apart. Len married another woman in Australia and constructed a house on land he had previously 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.”
