World’s ‘Oldest Married Couple’ Reveal Secret to Their 83-Year Union, and the 1 Drink They Share Every Day

A Miami couple is making history with their love story — holding the record for the longest marriage ever documented.

Lyle Gittens, 108, and his wife Eleanor Gittens, 107, were officially recognized by Guinness World Records on Nov. 5 as both the oldest living married couple (aggregate age) and the oldest married couple ever (aggregate age).

LongeviQuest, an organization that tracks longevity achievements, interviewed the pair about how they managed to keep their bond strong for over eight decades. Their secret was refreshingly simple.

“We love each other,” Eleanor said in an interview on Nov. 4.

Lyle added warmly, “I love my wife.”

The two met as students at Clark Atlanta University in 1941, where Lyle stood out as a basketball star — later earning a spot in the university’s Men’s Basketball Hall of Fame. Eleanor fondly remembered watching him play, and it wasn’t long before their connection turned into lifelong love.

They married on June 4, 1942, and celebrated their 83rd wedding anniversary earlier this year. Their journey, however, wasn’t without hardship.

Shortly after the wedding, the United States entered World War II, and Lyle was deployed to Italy with the Army’s 92nd Infantry Division. At the time, Eleanor was pregnant with their first child and often feared for her husband’s safety. They exchanged letters throughout the war — though Lyle’s messages were censored by military clerks.

Fortunately, the couple reunited after the war and built a life together in New York City, raising three children: son Lyle Rogers and daughters Angela and Ignae. Both worked for government agencies, and at age 69, Eleanor even earned a doctorate in Urban Education from Fordham University.

In a 2022 interview with The Westside Gazette, Eleanor revealed that they once enjoyed a nightly martini, joking that it might have been their secret to longevity. She also recalled that Lyle was drafted “barely a week after” he proposed, and that he was granted a three-day pass from training at Fort Benning, Georgia, to attend their wedding in Bradenton, Florida — where he met her family for the first time.

Now retired in Miami, the couple live near their daughter Angela and cousin Johnyta Roundtree, who help care for them. Lyle still reminisces about their years in New York but is grateful for the time they share together in Florida.

These days, according to LongeviQuest, the Gittens have traded their evening martini for a lunchtime Modelo beer — a simple pleasure for a love that has stood the test of time.