This love story started off in a nursing home and reached the heart of the millions of person who learned about it. The couple here is an inspiration for thousands of gays couple who are yet to bring their relationship to light fearing society backlash. John Banvard, 100 and Gerard “Jerry” Nadeau, 72 set a new example to the world with their seamless love. The couple is living with each other for 25 years almost and their love is still the same. Nadeau a retired world war II soldier and John a Vietnam Veteran met in 1998. At that time, both of them had not come out but despite that, the two did feel an attraction for each other. Being a gay, it was difficult for them to have a relationship with girls and as they were yet to open up about their sexual orientation so they had to enter relationships unwillingly. Banvard while talking to Nadeau in a StoryCorps interview revealed: “When we met, we were sort of in the closet, and I’d never had a real relationship.”
Nadeau asks a very heartful question to Banvard, “What would it have been like if you didn’t meet me?” to which his husband replies “I would have continued being lonely.” The couple was with each other for three years in Chula Vista of California and now it was the time to take their relationship to next level consequently they tied the knot in 2013 with a casual ceremony and hot dogs as its main course. The couple was a bit worried about people’s reaction to their wedding but surprisingly, no one raised an objection, In fact, they accepted them and what was expected to be a controversial marriage wholeheartedly.
Nadeau explains “I was expecting we’d be ridiculed, and there was very little of that.” The couple loves to be belonging to each other. They vividly remember an incident when someone addressed them as a couple while making their introduction to his family. Nadeau told Banvard, “I was with you in the cafeteria, and somebody came up with their family, and they said, ‘This is Gerard Nadeau, and this is his husband, John.” Banvard with a big smile on his face replied: “Yes, that was very nice.”