Santa Ana Couple Celebrates 75 Years Of Wedded Bliss
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Some married couples don't make it 75 months (or for that matter, 75 weeks -- hello Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries!) but one Santa Ana couple knows how to make a marriage work.
Ralph and Ruth Perez are celebrating 75 years (repeat, years!) of wedded bliss Saturday evening. State Senator Lou Correa sent the couple a certificate of recognition. Family and friends will also be on hand to honor this achievement.
The couple spoke with CBS2's Rachel Kim Friday about their special diamond anniversary and how they have made it through good times and bad.
When Ralph first laid eyes on Ruth he thought, "That's a good looking chick." Ruth was also smitten. "I thought he was good looking. Very good looking."
She was 16, he was 19 when they met in 1935 -- at a dance hall in Orange.
He remembers their first dance, a jitterbug to a Glenn Miller song, and they've been partners every since.
Their engagement was very simple. "I just asked her if she wanted to marry me," Ralph, now 96, recalls.
Their early years together, equally simple. "We got married, we had our children," says Ruth, now 92.
The couple wed in 1937. Two daughters followed.
While life was mostly uneventful, 75 years doesn't mean every moment was fun. "Sometimes it feels like 200 years," Ruth says, laughing."Even when things got rough, we would take care of it."
She says the secret to their long marriage is liking each other "and it helps if you like the same things." Ralph believes "going to the same church also has a lot to do with it."
Kim asked Ralph if he still gets romantic with his wife. After laughing, he paused and said, "No, we've kinda cooled off." And then he laughed some more before adding, "She knows how much I love her."
