Inside the 'storybook' marriage of Barbara and George HW Bush - who have been married longer than any first couple, and still say 'I love you' every night

Pat Ralph

Apr 17, 2018, 05:03 IST

Inside the 'storybook' marriage of Barbara and George HW Bush - who have been married longer than any first couple, and still say 'I love you' every night

Former US President George H.W. Bush tosses the coin for the Super Bowl as former first lady Barbara Bush looks on in Houston, Texas on February 5, 2017.

On Sunday, news broke that former first lady Barbara Bush is in "failing health" and is now focusing on comfort care at home.

The 92-year-old is battling Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and congestive heart failure, and has been hospitalized several times over the last year.

Bush, who resided in the White House for four years while her husband, former President George H.W. Bush, served as Commander in Chief, has been married to the 41st president of the United States for 73 years.

Described as a true love story, here is an inside look at the longest marriage in US presidential history:

Barbara Pierce and George Bush met at a dance over Christmas vacation in 1942. She was 17 and he was 18, and Barbara claims that George was the first boy she ever kissed.

After dating for a year and a half, the two became engaged and planned to get married before George went off to serve in World War II as a Navy pilot. He famously named three of his Navy planes after her, and the two shared love letters while he was away.

On January 6, 1945, the couple married at the First Presbyterian Church in Rye, New York while George was on leave from war. He was 20 and she was 19.

In the first year of their marriage, they moved around to Michigan, Maryland, and Virginia because of George's naval base assignments. "You have given me joy that few men know," he once wrote to her in a letter.

Over the next 13 years, the couple had six children: George, Robin, Jeb, Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy. Robin died of leukemia at the age of three.

After the war was over, George and Barbara moved the family to Texas, where he entered the oil business. The couple has moved over two dozen times during their marriage.

George was elected as a congressman from Texas in 1966, and Barbara took care of the children as he campaigned. She would sometimes join him on the trail, and would be there every step of the way as he moved up in the political world.

When former President Richard Nixon appointed Bush as Chairman of the RNC during Watergate, Barbara urged her husband not take the job because of the political climate in DC. Nevertheless, he accepted the offer.

When the Bush family lived in China while George served as head of the US Liaison Office under President Gerald Ford, the couple would regularly take bike rides and explore their new home.

George ran for the presidency in 1980, but fell short in the GOP primary to Ronald Reagan. Bush joined Reagan's winning ticket as his vice presidential candidate and helped the Republicans take back the White House.

When George ran for the presidency in 1988, Barbara again campaigned actively for him and became the second candidate's wife to speak on their behalf at the party convention. George became the 41st president of the United States.

After they left the White House in 1993, George and Barbara helped campaign for their children's quests for public office. The most notable were George W., who served as governor of Texas and the 43rd US president, and Jeb, who served as governor of Florida and ran for president. George W. credits his gubernatorial win to his parents.

Barbara has described her and her husband as "the two luckiest people in the world, and when all the dust is settled and all the crowds are gone, the things that matter are faith, family and friends. We have been inordinately blessed, and we know that."

"I have climbed perhaps the highest mountain in the world, but even that cannot hold a candle to being Barbara's husband," he once wrote.

George gives Barbara all the credit when it came to raising their children. He has described her as "the mainstay, of course, the parent who was always there to help solve the daily problems and emergencies of teen and preteen life."

They have weathered some hardships. When allegations surfaced in October 2017 of George inappropriately touching women, their office released a statement saying he "patted women's rears in what he intended to be a good-natured manner" and apologized to "anyone he has offended."

When their daughter Robin had cancer, George was too upset to visit her. Barbara refused to let anyone cry in front of Robin and remained with her at the hospital. George reportedly "marveled" at his wife's strength.

When George served as CIA director in the 1970s, he had to keep details of his job classified, and Barbara went through a bout of depression. But George took care of her.

"Night after night, George held me weeping in his arms while I tried to explain my feelings," she said. "I almost wonder why he didn't leave me."

He has described their love as a "storybook." Every night before the couple goes to sleep, George to this day still says "I love you, Barbie."

In a recent interview, Barbara said having a good husband is key to living a long life. "George Bush has given me the world. He is the best — thoughtful and loving," she said. "I am still old and still in love with the man I married 72 years ago."

She told C-SPAN in 2013 that she and George pray aloud each night and sometimes "fight over whose turn it is." Barbara also said she didn't fear death for herself or "my precious George.""I know there is a great God, and I'm not worried," she said.

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