President and Mrs. Carter Celebrate Their 75th Wedding Anniversary

By Lori Perkins

Today marks the 75th anniversary of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, making them the longest-married presidential couple in American history. It’s really quite an extraordinary celebration to share at a time when we are all questioning the importance and relevance of the institutions in our American life.

The Carters plan to celebrate their own marriage milestone a few days later with a party in Plains, Georgia, the home-town they were born in, were married in and returned to after the presidential years. Now nearly 40 decades since their inaugural balls and state dinners, the most famous residents of Sumter County said they have mixed feelings about the spotlight.

"We have too many people invited," Rosalynn Carter said with a laugh. "I'm actually praying for some turndowns and regrets."

Roslyn Carter, the younger of the pair at 93, said that he success of their long-marriage has always been a “partnership.”

"Every day there needs to be reconciliation and communication between the two spouses," the former president, 96, said, explaining that he and Rosalynn, both devout Christians, read the Bible together aloud each night—something they've done for years, even when separated by their travels. "We don't go to sleep with some remaining differences between us," he explained.