A couple have finally married after they were forced to call off their engagement 65 years ago. A family row meant Helen Andre, 82, and Dav...
A couple have finally married after they were forced to call off their engagement 65 years ago. A family row meant Helen Andre, 82, and Davy Moakes, 86, from Derbyshire, never tied the knot in 1951.
They met and fell in love at art college and Davy proposed in 1951. But his fiancée's parents would not give their blessing to the union - fearing Davy would struggle to provide for his family if he pursued a career as an artist.
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| Davy Moakes around the time he first met Helen Andre |
The wedding was scrapped two years later. Helen went on to be widowed three times, while Davy has lost two spouses. But the pair are now 'madly in love' after being reunited last year with the help of Helen's daughter, Debbie Williams, and social media.
Andre's daughter Debbie Williams, who tracked Moakes down, said the pair were "madly in love" after being reunited. She said they originally split because her mother's parents did not approve of his job as an artist. "Back in the 1950s [being an artist] was probably wasn't considered a good career for a future son-in-law," she said. "It broke both their hearts but in those days you did as you were told," Williams was quoted as saying by the BBC.
Williams said after her mother became widowed for a third time she decided to find Moakes. She said: "They got talking and rekindled their relationship and they fell madly in love... I am so happy for them." The couple, who have outlived five partners between them, were married at Ripley registry office on Friday afternoon. Moakes said: "If you love someone as much as we do it never goes away." The new Mrs Moakes said: "I've loved him all my life, I'm overjoyed, we're together at last."
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| Helen at her first wedding |
They married in a quiet register office ceremony at Ripley, Derbyshire, on Friday and are currently on honeymoon in Cyprus. //
