Couple finds love after 40 years during class reunion getaway

File photo: They lived hundreds of miles apart and had gone through tough times, including Bo's divorce and Beverly's husband passing away. Picture: Esther Ann/Unsplash

File photo: They lived hundreds of miles apart and had gone through tough times, including Bo's divorce and Beverly's husband passing away. Picture: Esther Ann/Unsplash

Published Apr 17, 2023

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The couple’s love connection goes back to the 1960s.

In a CNN report her now partner, Bo recalls the time he laid his eyes on Beverly for the first time, which was the beginning of eighth grade in August 1968.

Recalling the moment, Bo describes how a beam of sunlight illuminated Beverly as she turned and smiled at them. He even remembers the exact outfit she had worn that day, a Black Watch plaid dress and with striking red hair.

After becoming friends their relationship grew, Bo gave Beverly an ID bracelet with his name on it as a symbol of their commitment. Beverly never took it off, and they enjoyed a brief, but sweet courtship over the next few months.

However, things didn’t turn out as planned. The two lost touch after university but reconnected through social media in the mid-2000s.

They lived hundreds of miles apart and had gone through tough times, including Bo's divorce and Beverly's husband passing away.

However, it was in 2013, they received invites to their 40th high school reunion, held at the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock.

Clinton Presidential Library, Little Rock. Picture: INSTAGRAM

Although Bo and Beverly had attended previous school reunions, they had always come with their respective partners and didn’t interact much.

However, this time around, they both arrived alone and found themselves drawn to each other throughout the evening, often ending up in each other's company.

Bo shared his love for sailing with Beverly and their former classmates. They all felt the holiday spirit and decided to plan a 40th anniversary sailing trip.

Bo found Beverly fun and beautiful that night, but he didn’t anticipate anything romantic happening between them.

Picture: John Moeses Bauan/Unsplash

He told CNN: “I always had a favourable impression of her – and asked her on the trip as a friend.”

Well, that sounds like the best case of friend zone.

And when Beverly broke the news to her loved ones, they told her she was crazy since it has been 17 years since she hung out with them yet alone go on a vacation. But this could have been one of the best decisions the two could have made.

At one of the parties held on their trip, something magical happened between the two, they o stayed out into the early hours of the morning: “We were dancing and he kind of kissed me,” said Beverly. “We call it the ‘accidental kiss’.”

The kiss sealed the deal for sure.

Bo and Beverly’s old middle school friends were thrilled that they found each other and were well-suited.

After receiving their loved ones’ blessings, they became serious quickly.

Beverly, who had lost her first husband, realised that life is too short and taking a chance at love is worth the try.

Bo shared the same sentiment, and they decided to make the most out of every second together.

Read the latest issue of IOL Travel digital magazine here.