80-Year-Old Couple Rekindles Teen Romance 62 Years Later

80-Year-Old Couple Rekindles Teen Romance 62 Years Later

When 17-year-old Chuck Lewis first laid eyes on 16-year-old Sandy Gutting at Oceanside Pier in San Diego in April of 1945, it was love at first sight. Gutting was visiting from Los Angeles and Lewis was about to start his senior year at a nearby high school. That summer, the two enjoyed a whirlwind romance thanks to a string of weekend visits.

But then, once school began in the fall, it was impossible for Lewis to keep making the journey from San Diego to Los Angeles.

"He broke my heart," Gutting told U-T San Diego of their parting.

Little did she know it would be 62 years before they'd be back in touch.

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The two moved on and married other people, raised families and enjoyed long and successful careers. Gutting worked for many years as a flight attendant and met her husband when he was a passenger on one of her flights. After 17 years of marriage, he died of a heart attack, leaving her to raise their four daughters on her own. After she retired, she moved to Seattle to live closer to her family. Lewis joined the Air Force before managing a lock-making company. His first marriage lasted 10 years and produced two daughters. He was married a second time for 18 years before retiring to Oceanside, Calif. in 1990.

Lewis, who never forgot that summer romance, obtained Gutting's email address in 2007. He got in touch and the two exchanged photos and family news. She flew to Oceanside for a visit and the two rekindled their old spark.

Despite the 1,200 miles between them, they spend one week of each month together, alternating cities. They also talk on the phone twice a day -- at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.

To learn more about their love story, read the U-T San Diego story in its entirety here.

This isn't the first long-lost-love story we've heard this year. Only a few weeks ago, we wrote about a couple who reunited 35 years after a summertime romance. We also wrote about another couple reunited 24 years after a chance meeting on the QE2.

Do you have a long-lost love story to share with us? Email us at SayItOnHuffPost50@huffingtonpost.com. (PR pitches are not accepted at this address.)

(h/t U-T San Diego)

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