Man, wife in Ecuador named ‘oldest married couple’ with combined age of almost 215 years

The Guinness World Records has just named the world’s oldest married couple!

According to Guinness’ blog post on Tuesday, 110-year-old Julio Cesar Mora Tapia and 104-year-old Waldramina Maclovia Quinteros Reyes of Ecuador received the title, having a combined age of over 214 years and 358 days together. 

The couple had been married for 79 years, with the formal ceremony held in February 1941.

The two first met during Waldramina’s school vacation, when she visited her sister who happened to live at the exact same building as Julio.

They were then introduced to each other by her sister’s husband who turned out to be Julio’s cousin.

After being good friends for seven years later, the couple got married.

The secret to their marriage?

“The secret formula = love + maturity + mutual respect,” the couple said. “The love and maturity that we had as a couple from the beginning of the marriage allowed us to know each other and grow emotionally to define our future.”

“It was not easy because our relatives did not have a good relationship, but with time and patience we were able to unite them and we became an example and the best reference for the younger generations.”

They went on to become parents to 5 children, grandparents to 11, great-grandparents to 21, and great-great-grandparents to 9. – Kaela Malig/RC, GMA News