Woman, 71, Finds Romance Again at Senior Center with Man, 74, Following the Death of Her Loving Husband of 48 Years

A couple in their seventies is savoring newlywed life after getting married at the senior center where their relationship began.

Brena Mullins, 71, was mourning her husband of 48 years when a counselor encouraged her to visit the Montgomery County Senior Center in 2023, LEX 18 reported. During a card game, she met Bob Wagoner, 74, who was grieving the loss of his mother.

Before long, other regulars at the center noticed the connection forming as the two leaned on each other and built a friendship.

“And then everybody started in on the matchmaking, ‘You two need to get together, you need to get together,’” Mullins recalled to LEX 18.

Wagoner said getting to know Mullins brought back a youthful excitement. “It was a great feeling getting to know somebody … kinda like you were a teenager again, get all nervous, edgy, hoping everything will work out, and it did,” he said.

Even so, the pair admitted they were cautious at first about turning friendship into romance.

“And we both were like, I don’t wanna get married, we’ll just be friends, just date,” Mullins said, according to LEX 18.

She added that when Wagoner eventually proposed, she initially wasn’t ready. “He finally asked me to marry him, but I said, ‘I’m not ready,’” she said, while Wagoner remembered replying, “‘Well, when you get ready, you let me know.’”

Mullins later decided she was ready, and the couple tied the knot on Dec. 23, the outlet reported.

Although they originally planned to marry at the courthouse, their guest list grew enough that they chose a more meaningful setting: the senior center where they first met.

Next, they’re looking forward to a spring honeymoon spent fishing on a lake.

“It’s just a comfort being with her,” Wagoner told LEX 18.

“I like to cook, Bob likes to eat, so we got it made,” Mullins joked.