(OWN TV screen shot)
You always hear people say, “Black Love is beautiful,” but with the divorce rate being so high and so many single women commenting on the shortage of husband material, is Black love a thing of the past.
Well, not according to Oprah.
Black Love is a series on Oprah Winfery’s OWN network that highlighted love stories from the Black community and answered the burning question, “What is the secret to making a marriage work?” until the series ended in 2022. The series, which was created by husband-and-wife filmmakers Codie and Tommy Oliver presented real, honest, emotional and sometimes cringe-worthy love stories from some of the most successful people in business and entertainment as well as everyday couples. Featured couples included Oscar® winner Viola Davis and Julius Tennon, NAACP Image Award nominee Vanessa Bell Calloway and Dr. Anthony Calloway, and many more—each offering a unique take on love.
But it’s one particular couple that caught our eye: Arthur and Reva. Just your run-of-the-mill everyday couple who happened to be married for 70 years as of 2019! That’s nearly 3/4 of a century to the same person. That’s more than love!
And the couple has the cutest story too: It only took Arthur three times seeing and meeting Reva that he asked her to marry him.
“Everyday for a whole year I received a letter. So I got a letter from him every single day. He had these sparkling eyes and” That’s right, this man wrote and sent his wife-to-be a letter EVERY SINGLE DAY for a whole year before he married her. Now, it makes you think about when a guy doesn’t answer your texts doesn’t it?
But that’s a whole ‘nother subject. Back to Arthur and Reva.
(Photo credit: OWN TV screenshot)
In the Black Love video, you can tell that they both are happy with each other–you have to be if you want to be married that long! So the interviewer asks what it really takes to be married nearly 70 years.
“Teamwork and I think you have to continually be interested in different things,” Reva smiles as she chimes in. “We’ve learned to respect each other’s talents and likes and dislikes. You can’t stay stagnant and you have to change as the world changes. We’ve learned to respect each others roles.”
“And you need to have faith in one another too,” explained Arthur. “She knows what I like and I know what she likes. We work as a team.”
Mental note: “Teamwork makes the dream work!”
When asked how long it took the couple to get to a place where they trusted one another and worked as a unit, they didn’t hesitate and laughed. With that laugh, Reva’s answer was, “A while.” LOL.
So even if your relationship may be rocky or you don’t feel as strong you could be as a couple, Arthur and Reva give us all hope!
So what keeps the retired loving couple going now?
“Right now, we’ve switched roles. For the first part of our marriage, he took excellent care of me. So I didn’t have any worries or responsibilities. But now in his senior, challenging period, we’ve reversed roles and I’m taking care of him.,” Reva says.
Rest in peace to Arthur who died in 2019 shortly after the couple’s 70th wedding anniversary.
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