Woman was in awe of her parents’ relationship of 36 years—old photos revealed their secret
Some children might get a chance to witness their parents have a wonderful and loving relationship. Such a relationship might also inspire their children and set an example for them to follow. One woman, Rhema A. Smithwick, had such a chance, too. She had witnessed the love and friendship between her parents all her life and knew that they had been together for 36 years. Then one day, she saw their childhood photos and all of it made sense to her, per her Instagram account, @armoramormusic. The brief clip received over 9.4 million views.
The woman shared a video of her parents dancing with each other. "When your parents have been best friends for 36 years and it all makes sense when you see their old photos," the text overlay of the video read. Then she shared a bunch of old photos of her parents where they were smiling at each other and doing different things together. The couple met when they were only 14 and 15 years old, according to the caption and have been married for 33 years now. Rhema told Newsweek the reason behind her parents' beautiful relationship. "They first became friends and then eventually that friendship blossomed into something more."
Faith also played an important role in the couple, Jennifer and Stephen's, relationship. "The number one thing that has kept their love so strong over all these years is the love of Jesus." She added, "They both love each other in a way that is not self-serving, but is sacrificial. They put one another first." The daughter went on, "Have grace for one another and truly have the other's best interest in mind. I've seen this time and time again in their marriage and it is truly precious." People appreciated the relationship between the couple and shared their own experiences in the comments section of the Instagram video.
@missopinionated wrote, "Aww, that's just pure love. The way they laugh and how they're having fun is pure couples goals. Wishing them more happy, healthy years to come." @thepalmdiggity commented, "Oh man, I went to your page and saw you are the prettiest blend of them. I love seeing parents with a love so strong and a basis of true friendship that makes it all possible." @bridgecitysinners remarked, "A lot of people will never know what it’s like to have grown up watching and feeling a love like this. You are very lucky." @brohleckin pointed out, "Not one smile looks fake, it looks genuine, like you didn’t even have to tell them to smile, because they already were."
@million_dollargirl_9 shared, "I loved how their smiles never falter. May this kind of love find everyone and your parents find each other in every universe and be best friends and get married." @saraglaher expressed, "Kudos to whoever has taken photos of them because I know my parents had so much fun dating, but no photos. So I’m making sure to keep their stories written instead." @mellyleone said, "Got a mad crush on this cutie in 6th grade, he had a mad crush on me. Both of us were too shy to say anything aside from just being friends. We went through school and friendship and heartache and finally figured it out in our thirties. This love has no words. We're one another's forever and always."
You can follow Rhema A. Smithwick (@armoramormusic) on Instagram for more lifestyle content.