List of people in long marriages

This is a list of people in long marriages. This list includes only people reported by reliable sources as having been married for a long period of time. Oxford Dictionaries defines the word long as "lasting or taking a great amount of time". The list includes only people who have been married for at least 80 years. The length of marriage is based on the reported death of either member, or reported divorce, or the most recent report that both members of the couple were still living.

Background
A study of 40 sets of spouses married for at least 50 years concluded that the long-term married couples received high scores on the Lock-Wallace marital satisfaction test and were closely aligned on how their marriages were doing. In a 1979 study on about 55 couples in marriages with an average length of 55.5 years, couples said their marriages lasted so long because of mutual devotion and special regard for each other. Couples who have been married for a long time have a lower likelihood of divorcing because "common economic interests and friendship networks increase over time" and during stress can assist in sustaining the relationship.

Another study found that people in long marriages are wedded to the idea of "marital permanency" in which "They don't see divorce as an option". Sociologist Pepper Schwartz, AARP's relationships authority, said that it was helpful to have a spouse who is quick to recover when there are surprises in life.

A study of 1,152 couples who had been married for over 50 years found that they attributed their long marriages to faith in each other, love, ability to make concessions, admiration for each other, reliance on each other, children, and strong communication. Bowling Green State University's National Center for Family and Marriage Research found that 7% of American marriages last at least 50 years.