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Couple ties knot 60 years after their parents blocked teen wedding

"We fell in love again. I was overwhelmed with my love for her."

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Len Allbrighton, 79, and his wife Jeanette Steer, 78. (Photo by Len Albrighton via SWNS)

By Debbie Luxon via SWNS

An elderly couple were "overwhelmed" to finally tie the knot - six decades after their parents blocked their plans to get married as teenagers.

Len Allbrighton, 79, and Jeanette Steer, 78, prove that love has no expiration date by reuniting and marrying each other six decades after their teen engagement.

The pair reunited 52 years after their engagement as 18 and 19-year-olds was cut short by Jeanette's parents.

Len, then 71 and divorced with three children, tracked down Jeanette in 2015- curious to see if she was still alive and remembered him.

Little did he know she was not only alive but had saved the engagement ring she received as a smitten 18-year-old.

Jeanette was a retired nurse at the time with two adult children and still living with her first husband.

She now lives in Stevenage, Herts, with Len. She said: "I nearly died when I realized it was him standing by my garden fence.

"I was glad he looked me up. I thought of him a lot at the time.

"Married life is fantastic- it couldn't be better.

"It's nice to have someone who treats me with respect. I like doing everything and anything with Len."

The couple went to school together in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, Hamps, but didn't meet until they served as trainee nurses at St Mary's Hospital on the island in 1963.

Their romance was "it was love at first sight" and Len asked Jeanette to marry him within months of meeting.

Len planned to leave the island he had resented since childhood for the sunny shores of Australia.

Jeanette agreed and he left- planning to buy a piece of land and build a house for them before marrying Jeanette and bringing her over to start their new life together.

But her parents put a stop to the hasty wedding as she was only 18 and the age of consent at the time was 21.

They wouldn't allow Jeanette to leave for Australia and forced her to call the whole thing off.

Len received her heartfelt letter ending their engagement whilst he was in Oz.

He eventually married a woman in Australia, whilst Jeanette married a naval officer and stayed on the island.

The pair reunited 52 years after their engagement as 18 and 19-year-olds was cut short by Jeanette's parents. (Photo by Len Albrighton via SWNS)

Around 52 years later, Len was divorced and living in Stevenage as a retired district nurse when he decided to look for Jeanette again.

He traveled down to Newport on the Isle of Wight and looked up her address in the electoral role in Newport library.

Len said: "I was daunted not knowing what her reaction would be or if I would even see her.

"I went on the off chance. It was not an easy place to find but I did.

"I just hoped she was ok- I didn't expect anything else. I'm very surprised by the outcome of my trip down there and very happy too!"

He stood outside her garden fence, staring up at the house when a woman came out to see who he was.

Jeanette didn't recognize his bearded face, knowing him as a clean-shaven youth at 19, but was astounded when he told her who he was.

Jeanette was still married and living with her husband.

She sent Len away, telling her husband he was a stranger looking for directions.

Two years later, her husband died from cancer and she this time reached out to Len, finding his address from a Christmas card he had sent her the year before.

When Len invited Jeanette up to live with him in Stevenage in 2018, she said: "It didn't feel strange, it felt natural.

"I was glad he asked me. I couldn't wait to get up here to be with him."

Last year Len asked Jeanette to marry her, again, and this time no one stopped them. One of Jeanette's two daughters even gave her away.

They tied the knot five years to the day Jeanette moved up to be with Len on Feb. 11, with new matching wedding bands and their families, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to bear witness.

Len said: "We fell in love again. We read poems to each other and exchanged rings- I got emotional when reading mine. I was overwhelmed with my love for her."

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