102- and 100-Year-Old Bride and Groom Who Met in a Nursing Home and Married After 9 Years of Dating

After Each Lost Their Spouse First, Living in a Nursing Home
Turns Out They Attended the Same University Around the Same Time

A 102-year-old bride and a 100-year-old groom, who found new love while living in a nursing home after losing their spouses, held a wedding after nine years of dating.

On the 23rd (local time), Fox News and the New York Post reported that Marjorie Peterman (102, female) and Bernie Leitman (100), who live in Philadelphia, USA, got married on the 19th at the nursing facility where they reside. The two, who first met at this nursing home, dated for nine years before tying the knot. Both had been married before but lost their spouses and had been living alone in the nursing facility. Groom Leitman was married to his late wife Bernice for 65 years and had two children, four grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. Bride Peterman’s husband Maurice passed away in 1999, and she lived single for 25 years thereafter.

The 102-year-old bride Peterman (left) and the 100-year-old groom Leitman who recently held their wedding [Image source: Sarah Sickerman Facebook capture]

The two lived on the same floor of the nursing home and got to know each other by participating in costume parties, going on their first date on the day one of Leitman’s great-granddaughters was born. Their children never expected their parents, given their advanced age, to remarry. However, their love grew stronger with each passing year. The twilight lovers supported each other and nurtured their love while living in the nursing facility. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, they deeply realized their love for each other and the significance of their partner.

They also share a special past connection. Both attended the University of Pennsylvania around the same time. However, they were in different colleges with different majors and did not know each other then. Rabbi Adam Walberg, who officiated their wedding, said, "Most couples these days meet through dating apps, but I much prefer the old-fashioned way of falling in love by chance while living in the same building." He added, "You two have already accumulated wisdom and experience over a lifetime, and your attitudes, emotions, and perspectives are well established at this point, so there is no need to give the usual advice at this wedding."

Leitman’s granddaughter, Sarah Sickerman, said, "Our family thought grandpa would remain in a dating state, so we were surprised by the decision to marry, but we are very happy that grandpa now has a spouse to rely on." The couple’s combined age exceeds 202 years. Sickerman said, "I think they might be the oldest newlyweds. The application is pending, but I believe they hold the Guinness World Record for the oldest couple to get married." The current Guinness record holders in this category are Dorin and George Kirby from the UK, who were 194 years and 279 days old combined when they married on June 3, 2015.