After their split, the woman never saw the love of her life again, until a few months ago, when she tracked him down at a Chicago nursing home.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on January 24, 2022. It has since been updated.
When you really love someone, nothing and no one can keep you apart from them. No matter what, the world will conspire to get you back together with them, because they will always have a piece of your soul. When Jeanne Gustavson first met Steve Watt while they were in college, at the German club at Loyola University in Chicago. There was some sizzle and some sparks, and they two admitted to their feelings and began dating. But their love didn't last long; rather, they were not allowed to remain together.
Steve wasn't White, and Gustavson's mom was livid when she found out who her daughter was dating, according to CBS News.
"My mother was absolutely livid," the now 68-year-old woman said. "What didn't she say? How could I disgrace the family. It was not pretty."
“Race drove its wedge. But love found it’s way back.”
— Mary Chao 趙 慶 華 (@marychaostyle) January 16, 2022
I love this story of endless love, against all odds. For the romantics who believe.
Couple rekindles romance after decades apart - CBS News https://t.co/YR10GyewFW
For most of her adult life, guilt engulfed Gustavson for abandoning her one true love. "I can't turn back the clock. I wish I could," Gustavson said. "I would have married him." After their split, Gustavson never saw the love of her life again, until a few months ago, when she tracked him down at a Chicago nursing home.
"What I found was sort of a broken man," she said. Just like Gustavson, Watts had a similar story. He too was divorced, with no kids to call his own. He had been homeless, had two strokes and was completely different from the image the woman had of her soulmate. But none of it mattered to her.
"But he's still the wonderful, gorgeous man that I knew," Gustavson said, elated at having a second chance with the only man she ever truly loved.
Now that her mother was no longer in the picture, Gustavson made arrangements to move Watts from the nursing home to her home in Portland, Oregon. "I feel terribly lucky that I get a second chance — we both get a second chance," she said.
Watts is bedridden, due to his health, but his love for Gustavson hasn't faded even a bit after all these years. It may have taken about 40 years for the lovebirds to find their way back to each other, and though people say time heals all wounds, their wounds healed only after reuniting with each other.
Race might have played a part in pushing them apart in the first place, but there's nothing greater than love.
As for the couple's future plans, Gustavson said she's "not at liberty to say" whether Watts has proposed, but her answer would be "hypothetically, yes" if he does.
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Cover Image Source: YouTube | CBS Evening News (Couple rekindles romance after decades apart)
