When talking about some of the most popular love stories of all time, people often reference William Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet. It’s a story of two star-crossed lovers whose families are at odds with one another. Thus, everyone they know and care about is practically against the two of them getting together. And that’s somewhat similar to the story that we will be talking about today. In this piece, we will be telling the story of Mary and Jake, a couple that first got together back in the 1940s despite the fact that society didn’t want them to.
Instant Love Affair
The chances of Jake and Mary ever even crossing paths was one in a trillion. Jake, after all, was a native of Trinidad while Mary was raised in Great Britain. However, as fate would have it, when Jake enlisted for the military, he was assigned at a station in the Burtonwood Base, which was relatively near where Mary was living at the time. Jake was a member of the American Air Force when he met Mary at the same technical college where she was being trained as a typist.
Mary opened up in an interview with The Daily Mail about how meeting Jake was almost like love at first sight. “We were at the same technical college. I was having typing and shorthand lessons and he’d been sent there for training by the Air Force. He was with a group of black friends and they called my friend and me over to talk,” she said as she recounted her story.
The couple felt an instant kinship with one another and began seeing each other fairly often. However, it’s important to note that their budding love affair was taking place in the 1940s wherein racial tensions were high and it was incredibly rare for races to intermingle. Both of them felt the pressure and judging eyes of society as their relationship continued to blossom.
Star-Crossed Lovers
It was during a picnic with mutual friends wherein the couple had their first firsthand encounter with the cruelty of society at the time. Apparently, a lady was cycling by the group and took notice of Jake and Mary being intimate with one another. Unfortunately, the lady new Mary’s father and immediately reported to him what she had seen. Mary’s father was not too keen on the idea of Mary seeing Jake and had forbidden her from continuing to do so.
Although, despite her father’s misgivings, Mary continued to see Jake because she was fully committed both to him and the love that she had for him. The two of them persisted in their relationship until the war came to an end and Jake had to return to his home in Trinidad.
Overcoming Challenges
The two of them stayed in touch despite being separated from one another through love letters. It was through these letters wherein Jake and Mary were able to sustain the intimacy and love they had for each other. A few years later, Jake was able to return to the United Kingdom and asked for Mary’s hand in marriage when she was only 19. Mary’s parents were against the marriage, but she decided to marry him anyway.
Fast forward to 71 years later and the couple is still going strong. Of course, they didn’t have the easiest of love affairs. But the love that they had for one another was so strong that nothing could have ever toppled it. They have served as a shining beacon of hope for couples whose relationships are deemed controversial. They are perfect proof of love being able to persist despite whatever challenges.
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Isn’t this relationship just the sweetest? Have you ever had a relationship that other people didn’t approve of? Share your relationship stories and struggles in the comments section down below.