Don, 94, has done one thing every night to ‘please’ his wife Marilyn, 93, throughout their marriage
A couple who have been married for nearly 70 years ‘look forward’ to doing the same thing every night before they go to sleep.
Don, 94, and Marilyn, 93, have spent most of their lives with one another.
So it seems that if we’re taking relationship advice from anyone, it’s these two.
But they recently revealed the secret to their happy marriage, that has spanned over nearly seven decades.
The sweet couple from South Dakota have a ritual that they do before bed every single night, which Marilyn said she ‘looks forward to’ every day.
They revealed that just before laying their head on the pillow, Don serenades his wife.
“Want a song?,” he asks.
And it seems that Marilyn has never turned down the opportunity.
Speaking to CBS, Don explained: “I discovered a couple of things. First of all, it pleased her. And secondly, it calmed us.
“And if we had a disagreement or something before, it was gone by the time we went to sleep.”
Marilyn added: “I just look forward to it, and he has a beautiful voice.”
Their son Doug noted that it’s something the couple do everywhere they go, even if they happen to be staying in a hotel.
And the song was all the more meaningful in January, after Marilyn fell and broke her hip.
Don sweetly sang to her while she was recovering in the hospital bed.
The 94 year old said: “It’s very simple. It’s very easy to do.”
His wife added: “We wouldn’t go to sleep without that.”
Don shared his advice with other couples, prompting them to adopt the wholesome tradition.
He said: “You see, when you sing to your spouse, she realises that you really care enough to go out of your way – rather than just say, ‘Goodnight, honey’.”
However, one person in the comments suggested their singing voice would be the opposite of relaxing.
They said: “My singing voice is so off-key that my wife wouldn’t want me singing to her ever – forget about doing it nightly!
“We have our own things that we do, but this is above and beyond. I’m thrilled that this couple has this ritual together.”
Another also said they had their own habits, writing: “Love it! We’ve been married 50 years this January and we never miss our nightly hug and kiss!”
A third noted: “Wow, that is absolutely precious. I would have loved to have a man like that in my life.”
Couple provoke heated debate after revealing they swap sides of the bed every night
The side of the bed I sleep on is so important to me, that I sleep on that very same side even in hotels and Airbnbs.
That’s why I was so utterly flabbergasted upon learning some people – and even some couples – swap around willy nilly.
Now, I know that when we tend to think about what is or isn’t taboo in the bedroom, it’s rarely referring to the way we sleep but I’m shook.
One couple have taken to TikTok to share their (surely controversial) take on how they best enjoy their bed.
It turns out the side they sleep on just depends on what kind of mood they’re in.
As someone with a carefully curated bed side table that includes my current read, a carafe for water and a nightlight, this irks my soul.
But they seem happy so maybe there’s something in it after all.
The video is captioned: “Okay I really need to know if we are alone in this – do you randomly pick which side of the bed you are going to sleep on or do you sleep on the same side every single night?”
Angelina, the wife of the duo, shares: “We do not have a regular side of the bed that we sleep on.
“Last night I slept on this side, and then the night before, for like two or three nights in a row, I slept on the other side.
“It’s never discussed. We just randomly pick a side when we go to sleep.”
She continued: “Whenever this has come up in conversation, people act like it’s the craziest thing they’ve ever heard.
“We just never picked a side of the bed.”
One person wrote: “I’m single, and I have a side of my bed,” as another joked: “What kind of serial killer behaviour is this. Even when I was single with my own bed I had my own side”.
A third added: “Do you guys sleep in jeans as well?”
And a fourth simply wrote: “Slept on my wife’s side once…felt like I was in someone else’s home entirely.”
Seems like my shell-shocked reaction was far from the only one.