Racial Intolerance Forced Couple Apart But 42 Years Later They Reconnected And Now Live Together

Oct 21, 2021 by apost team

True love is enduring and can withstand any battle. One special couple proved this when they reunited after 42 years apart. Jeanne Gustavson and Steve Watts first began dating in 1971 in Chicago, Illinois. According to the pair, they fell in love instantly, but not everyone was happy about the relationship. Gustavson’s family forbade her from seeing Watts because he is a Black man. 

The couple dated in secret for a while and were together for eight years before separating in 1979. They lost contact, and Gustavson eventually moved to Portland, Oregon. Watts stayed in Chicago, but as he got older, his health began to deteriorate, and in 2004 he ended up moving into a nursing home. 

For over four decades, Gustavson could not stop thinking about Watts. She regretted her decision to break up and decided to try and find him. The search seemed to be impossible until Gustavson got a call from a woman that turned out to be Watts’s niece. She told Gustavson that Watts was living in a nursing home. Gustavson sent Watts a letter, but he never replied, and the staff at his care facility said he wasn’t able to take calls.

In August 2020, after no success reaching the man she still loved, Gustavson decided to take a secret trip to Chicago. When she finally found him, Watts was in poor health. However, he recognized Gustavson right away, and the pair knew they still had feelings for one another. Keep reading to learn more about this wonderful couple. 

Watts and Gustavson were still in college when they met. They were in the German club together, and one day Gustavson decided to have a party for the group at her home. When she told her mother about Watts, she received a very surprising reaction. “I said one of the people is Black, and she just went ballistic,” Gustavson said to Washington Post. “My extended family got involved, and everyone was discouraging me.”

With pressure from her family, Watts and Gustavson dated in secret until it became too difficult, and then they broke up. “I regretted it from the time that I did it. I’ve had guilt over it for the last 42 years,” Gustavson shared. “I knew somehow this was an open chapter; it was never closed. I knew there had to be more to this than the way it ended.”

The moment the couple was reunited, they felt the love between them. “In that instant, I knew he still loved me and I still loved him, and this was going to be forever,” she said. “He grabbed my hand and would not let go. The two of us cried for about an hour and a half.”

After seeing Watts's condition, Gustavson knew she could not abandon him again. She set up a GoFundMe to raise money to move him into her home in Portland. The GoFundMe description set up by Jeanne detailed their story now that they had found each other:

"Unfortunately Steve had had two strokes leaving him debilitated. But he is alert as alert can be! The nursing home in which he resides now has not given him the attention & care he sorely needs...We both would like to be together, but moving him to Oregon is very costly & outside my financial means."

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The fundraiser went on to describe exactly the challenges that Steve would face moving across the country:

"Because of his physical impairments he has to travel by gurney, which makes the journey more costly. He will need an adjustable bed & some equipment in order for me to take proper care of him. Our wish is to live a happy future together. We believe love truly finds a way. Any donations to help our dream come true are greatly appreciated."

As of the time of writing, $29,370 of the fundraiser's $30,000 goal has been raised. In an interview with the Washington Post, both Jeanne Gustavson and Steve Watts had the chance to share their story with others. Watts recalled the day that Gustavson visited him in the nursing home as he said:

"She was so beautiful, I couldn't take my eyes off of her. We knew we loved each other still."

 Gustavson also shared her own memories from the day they reunited: 

"He looked totally different than the guy I knew 50 years ago...at the core of it, we are still the same people. He is still wonderful. He is still funny."

Now that the two are finally back together again, Watts' health is also improving; "Steve is flourishing. He is improving leaps and bounds," said Gustavson, who is a retired nurse. "He is not the same man I saw two months ago."

Now, the pair are happier than ever. "She saved my life," said Watts. "If this is not heaven, it's pretty close to it. I'm the luckiest guy in the world, and then some."

What do you think of this love story? Did it touch your heart? Let us know your thoughts, and be sure to send this along to your friends and family.