It took 50 Years For This Couple To Finally Get Married After Being Kept Apart

The 60’s were all about loving yourself and loving one another. When a freshman boy heads off to college, he ends up meeting the girl of his dreams. Their relationship had a fairytale start, but also a fairytale ending. It was decades before they saw each other again, and when they did, it was magical…

Star-Crossed Lovers

Janice Rude and Prentiss Wilson are real-life star-crossed lovers. Their romance was fairy-tale-like from the start, and so was it’s demise. Through up’s and down’s, they were certain that they were destined for each other. When outside forces went sour, it took decades for them to reconnect. There was one particularly shocking piece of evidence of their meant-to-be love found years and years later… It wasn’t just a coincidence, they knew that it was destiny!

First Year At College

Prentiss Wilson was starting his first year at Occidental College in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles. The freshman was hours away from home and on his path of making new friends. Occidental, known as Oxy by the students, is one of the oldest private liberal arts schools on the West Coast and one of the best in the country.

Love At First Sight

Wilson was on the path to start his career in law school at Oxy. Like any student, he started his mornings at the cafeteria on campus. Little did he know that he would be meeting his soul mate in this seemingly average place. He walked up to the cafeteria and was completely blown away by one of the student employee’s working… That, of course, was Janice Rude.

The Cafeteria Girl

Wilson recalls being blown away by her appearance and general being. “I actually didn’t think I had a chance with her. She was a year ahead of me and just so beautiful.” As a sophomore, Rude was able to work a campus job. She would start her mornings in the cafeteria and then spend the rest of her day in classes for her business degree. Wilson was intimidated by Rude but made sure to be the first one in line every morning just to talk to her.

It’s hard to forget a face that you see every day at 6 a.m. for months on end! Rude obviously remembered the first time she and Wilson met… It’s something she says she could never forget. Rude and Wilson noted that they never saw each other outside of the cafeteria despite both of them desperately wanting to run into one another! Despite that, Wilson made sure to see her every morning so they could have a flirty chat. They immediately clicked. Then, Rude made an extremely daring, last-minute move…

Making A Move

The semester was moving forward and Thanksgiving break was quickly approaching. Rude and Wilson both recall feeling anxiety about the break… They wouldn’t be able to see each other. The two were not in a relationship, and haven’t even hung out one-on-one, but they were both dreading this time apart. When Wilson was not at the school’s pre-Thanksgiving dinner, Rude began to ask around and find out where he went. Some friends said he went home to Santa Maria to spend time with his family. This is when Rude decided to do something drastic.

Knock Knock!

Using the school’s director, Rude found his address. It was 150 miles from Oxy to Santa Maria, but that didn’t stop Rude from driving three hours to surprise him at his doorstep. Their love was so real that Rude was driven to do this, even expecting the worst. Meanwhile, Wilson recalled trying to get the nerve to ask her out… But, he just couldn’t do it! So, when he was at home for break, he was beyond shocked to see Rude sitting at his doorstep!

All Coming Together

Wilson will never forget the feeling of shock that he had on that fateful day. He could even remember how impressed and already in-love with Rude his mother was just from that gesture. Wilson was also ecstatic to learn that Rude had the same feelings for him as he did for her. Nothing says, “I like you!” more than driving three hours to surprise someone! Rude was invited for dinner and to spend the rest of break at their home… That was just the beginning! But, it seems that it would come to a forceful end just as quickly as it started…

Meant To Be

Rude herself was even shocked that she did this! Some otherworldly presence was forcefully bringing her and Wilson together, apparently! She hit it off with his parents, and then they were left alone to get to know each other. They both realized that she took such a huge risk and that they, Wilson especially, were so thankful for that.

Sight-Seeing

Wilson decided to take Rude around his hometown and show her the popular sights. She was thankful to be getting to know her dreamboy as well as seeing where he grew up! This was the most time they’ve ever spent together… You can only talk to so much while in line at the cafeteria!

Mother Approved

Wilson’s mother was a huge advocate for them. It was just like could just tell that her son had met his soul mate. She knew that they were meant to be together and that they were going to be together until the end of their days. It was during that week when they finally held hands for the first time and kissed… It was all magical!

Moving Quickly

After their relaxing and magical break together, they returned back to school a couple. It was almost immediately after returning home that Wilson would propose to her during one of his frat socials. They announced the engagement and even had it printed in the paper. It was real! They were getting married. That is, until something horrifying happened…

Going South

Rude’s father did not approve of the wedding. In fact, he told his daughter that if she continued seeing this boy, he would not pay for her college. She was devastated. Her mother tried to help out financially as well, but it wasn’t enough. Rude and Wilson decided to break up, and to never speak again so that Rude could still have the future she wanted… It would just be without her soul mate.

Moving On In Life

Wilson ended up graduating Oxy and going to Harvard to become a tax attorney. He moved to Northern California and got married. Janice finished her business degree and opened up a swimming pool business in Reno Nevada, where she also got married, this time to someone her father approved of. The two stayed in touch, but just barely… It was almost too hard because they loved each other so much but evidently moved on. They both knew they couldn’t pick up where the left off. Years later, the power of their love would really come through…

A Sign

Wilson and Rude both ended up divorcing their spouses. The two still did not reconnect, due to the same anxieties. Wilson’s mother ended up passing away in the meantime. He was going through her belongings when he found something incredibly heartwarming: His mother had saved the engagement announcement from the newspaper. Wilson was saddened by seeing the announcement but also happy to see that his mother saved it. She was always such a supporter of them! Then, something even crazier happened.

Just a few months later, Rude’s mother also passed away. In the same fashion as Wilson, Rude found herself going through her mother’s belongings. As she flipped through her wallet, she found something incredible: The engagement clipping! Her mother had held it in her wallet after all this time. When the two broke the news to each other, they knew that they had to meet again… It was a sign from their mothers! And who could go against their mothers’ wishes?

Old Mementos

Apparently, each of their mother’s still had some strong feelings about their engagement! A mother knows best, after all. It took them yet another decade to speak to make the decision to finally meet up again…

Should They Meet Up Again?

Finding those engagement announcements really brought up some past feelings in the two. Time and time again, they found themselves lost in reminiscing about their college love. Over time, it made the two long for each other. They were both single, what was stopping them? Well, the fear of rejection! Years and years went by and neither could hold back any longer…

First Date… Part Two!

One day, they decided to act on their feelings and finally meet up. Wilson invited Rude to the Bay Area for a date at a favorite place of his in San Francisco. She accepted the invitation and met up with her long lost love. They were able to catch up in a relaxing environment. They were both so nervous! It had been nearly 50 years. Things were so different…

The Cliff House

This first date brought them right back to the 60’s. Wilson even noticed that Rude was wearing the same color pants as she did that fateful Thanksgiving day! The date was running smoothly, it was like they hadn’t missed the last 50 years.

Their first date in years went perfectly! So much so that they decided to meet back up at the Cliff House for a second date. They needed to be able to talk more about themselves, but there just wasn’t enough time in one day!

The two never visited how they felt after the break-up… Despite it being decades late, the hurt was still very apparent. They both had the struggles of dealing with a heartbreak completely on their own. Despite that, they were able to share the fun parts of their college experience, even though they had those experiences separately.

The Future

After some reminiscing, they were ready for the future. They agreed that they let too much time pass to be apart anymore. They officially began their relationship. They were no longer going to be apart! They moved to a new city together and began their lives…

Getting Back To It

In order to get back on track, they began to have dinners with each other where one would cook. They loved cooking for each other back in the day and decided to bring that routine back!

Everything Felt Right

Rude, in particular, had no idea what was in store for their future. She remembers the week before she met back up with Wilson, she told her daughters what she thought… Rude felt that if it didn’t go well, they would say goodbye forever. Looking back on that, it seems like a crazy thought! These two were truly meant to be together…

Getting Engaged Once Again

They relocated, moved in together, and then, got engaged! Their loved ones knew that it was about time. They announced their engagement and love story which went viral because of their adorable relationship. The most important part to them was seeing their engagement through this time so that their mothers can finally witness it from wherever they may be!

Wedding Day!

The two wanted to back to where their love started for their wedding… Occidental College. They were able to rent out a courtyard that was coincidentally connected to the student center that held the cafeteria where they first met! They could have married in the cafeteria, but they wanted to keep it casual.

Days and Days Apart

Janice and Prentiss did the math and discovered they’d been apart for around 17,500 days, and still struggle with accepting all that lost time. This motivates them, even more, to take advantage of every single day they spend together, regardless of how many they actually have left. They’re both currently retired and living in Yountville, located right in the heart of Napa Valley…

Together Forever

After getting married, they retired from their jobs and moved to the heart of Napa Valley. Now that they were into their 70s, they were making up for lost time and spending a lot of time together. Their story proves that true love really exists!