Chinese man, 86, marries college sweetheart, 81, decades later
By Bryan Ke
16 days ago
Two octogenarians, who were college sweethearts in their youth, recently tied the knot decades after they parted ways.
Key points:
- Zhou Guilin, 86, married his college sweetheart and first love, Yang Xiugui, 81, at a ceremony held in Yiyang, a city in Hunan province, China, on April 14. The couple went ahead with the nuptials after receiving blessings and consent from their respective families.
- Only a small group of close relatives and friends were invited to the small, intimate reception, the couple’s friend, identified only by his surname Chen, said. At the ceremony, Yang reportedly danced joyously and sang, contributing to a lively atmosphere.
The details:
- Zhou and Yang were former schoolmates at Peking University, where they developed a bond and eventually fell in love, becoming each other’s first love.
- Due to unknown circumstances, the couple broke up and went their separate ways after college. They later started their own families and began new lives.
- While it is unclear what Yang did during those years, Zhou reportedly founded Gaoping Middle School in his hometown. He served as its first principal and dedicated his time to nurturing its youth.
- Zhou and Yang decided to reconnect years after their respective spouses died. During the reunion, the two reignited the spark in their old relationship and eventually decided to spend the rest of their lives together, with the consent of their families.
- “Now, since both of our spouses are no longer here, why don’t we live together? This way, we can make up for the regrets in our hearts and take care of each other, spending our remaining years happily together,” the couple said, Chinese media recounted.
How people reacted:
- Some Chinese social media users expressed their views on what first love is, with one user writing, “It seems that there will always be a place for first love in a man’s heart.”
- Meanwhile, one Douyin user argued that, while it was fine for old flames to be together again later in their lives, what the couple had should not be defined as “true love.” The user explained, “It’s not uncommon for once-loving individuals to reunite in their old age and pick up where they left off. But don’t promote this as so-called true love. If it’s true love, you wouldn’t get married, have children with someone else, and then claim it’s true love. It makes the deceased person’s life seem so worthless.”
- Another Douyin user found the story upsetting, writing in their comment, “I feel especially sad after reading this. If I were to die and knew that my husband remarried his first love, taking over the home I worked hard to build and maintain for a lifetime, perhaps even having my children and grandchildren call her ‘mom,’ I would be very upset.”
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