Julio Mora, 110 years old, and Waldramina Quinteros, 104, have just been awarded the Guinness World Record for the world’s most aged married couple. Mr. Julio Mora was born on March 10, 1910, and Mrs. Quinteros on October 16, 1915. The couple has been married for 79 years, longer than most people have been alive.
There are longer marriages that the Guinness World Records have reported, but none between a couple so old. The record certifies the couple living in Quito, Ecuador, as having the “highest combined age of a married couple”. As of Saturday, the couple has lived a combined 78,654 days and has been married 79 years, six months, and 22 days.
Their parents and families disapproved of their marriage almost 80 years ago. But Mora secretly slipped away from his parents to marry his lover in 1941. They were married in La Iglesia de El Belen, the Spanish in Quito’s first church. Both are retired teachers and have four surviving children, 11 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren, and nine great-great-grandchildren. Among their proudest achievements is having five children who all successfully earned their college diplomas.
Te couple who knew each other for seven years before marrying on February 7, 1941.
“The love and maturity that we had as a couple from the beginning of the marriage allowed us to know each other and grow emotionally to define our future. It was not easy because our relatives did not have a good relationship. Still, with time and patience, we were able to unite them, and we became an example and the best reference for the younger generations.”
Julio Mora and Waldramina Quinteros
At the beginning of this year, one of their grandchildren suggested that his grandparents could be among the world’s oldest couples. Cecilia, their daughter, then sent all the requested documents to the Guinness World Records, and by mid-August, they had received the certification.
Cecilia said they’re both in good health, but their mental health has suffered due to the pandemic. “For a month, they have been different, more downcast because they miss large family gatherings,” she said. Their parents enjoy going to the cinema and theatre together. Her father also enjoys watching television and drinking milk while her mother enjoys desserts and reads the newspaper every morning.
When asked if she had some advice for those seeking to live a long life, Mrs. Quinteros said, “to speak … the truth. Do not lie, because lies can lose the world.” Those asking their secret formula for a long relationship, the couple said, “love, maturity, and mutual respect.”
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