For better or for worse, in sickness and in health, 67-year-old Wanda and 70-year-old Marvin Brewington are the ultimate marriage goals. After their daughter, photographer Amber Robinson, shared a beautiful portrait of them on Instagram along with a caption detailing their moving love story, the Internet truly felt the love. We asked the Brewingtons to share their secrets to lasting love. Grab a tissue!
The Mr. and Mrs. met on the campus of Livingston College in Salisbury, North Carolina and were college sweethearts.
The college sweethearts wed in 1970 in Wanda’s hometown, Wilkesboro, North Carolina in a backyard wedding ceremony.
In 1973, Marvin was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and Wanda was by as side just as she was in 1987 when doctors informed him that he had colon cancer. In 2013, he discovered he had prostate cancer and a year later, Wanda was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease.
“Our love for each other and faith in God,” the couple said was the strength that held them together on even the most difficult days of their respective health battles. “We made a vow on our wedding day, through sickness and health and have always been determined that we can and will overcome anything. On the days that one of us is down, the other one picks us up.”
“I have learned that love isn’t always easy, but it is always worth the work. I really strive to model myself as a wife and mother after the example that my parents have taught me,” said the couple’s daughter Amber Robinson, who also took these amazing photos.
Witnessing her parent’s love over the years, she said has taught her a great deal on love and marriage. “Honesty and communication, never going to bed upset, and finding a way to compliment your partner.”
“The secret to a lasting marriage is truth, honesty and not letting the small things get you down,” the pair happily admitted. “But most of all never forgetting to laugh and have fun. It is hard work, but it has always been worth the work it takes.”
“The best love lesson my parents have game me is that saying ‘I love you’ is the smallest expression of love that you can give your partner,” Robinson admitted. “Doing things that make your partner feel loved goes so much farther than saying the words.”
“The glue that holds our marriage together is a strong belief in God and our love for each other,” Wanda and Marvin admitted. “We both also had excellent role models as parents. They had it way tougher than we did, and we know that is they were able to do it, with what they had, we certainly can.”
