High school sweethearts marry 57 years later: 'We never imagined this in a million years'

Abby Haglage

Barb Cotton and Curtis Brewer are giving new meaning to the term “high school sweethearts.” Fifty-seven years after “going steady” during their high school careers in the 1960s, the two tied the knot in a close-knit ceremony surrounded by family and friends on Saturday.

“He had always loved me and I loved him,” Cotton, aged 72, told local Milwaukee, Wisconsin, news station WITI. “Curtis went off to college, our lives kind of lost each other but we never broke up just got separated.” The two were accidentally reunited last year through a social networking site for former students. “She saw me on Classmates.com. I answered her back, I answered her real quick,” Brewer told WITI.

After talking for years, the two reportedly realized they were still in love. So in August, Brewer, who is also 72, got up the nerve to ask the question. “I couldn’t take it any longer. I called her on the phone and said, ‘Would you?’… That’s all I got out,” Brewer told the outlet. “She said yes.”

Cotton and Brewer set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for an RV trip they plan to take together. “Barb and Curtis would like nothing more than to begin their newly married life traveling across the country in an RV,” the GoFundMe reads. “You can help support them in this brand new chapter of their life together as husband and wife, a dream come true!”

In an email exchange with Yahoo Lifestyle, the two said they are overjoyed to be together. “We just wanted to share our story to bring hope, love, and joy to others,” they told Yahoo Lifestyle. “We wanted to touch other people’s lives through the story of our journey that has surpassed time and we never imaged in a million years we’d be here at this point in our lives saying we are husband and wife.”

It seems that the couple already has a fan club on GoFundMe. “A true love story… I wish you both the best and congrats!” wrote a user named David. “True love conquers all!” added another user named Alexandra. “This story made me smile.”

After ‘going steady’ in high school, Barb Cotton and Curtis Brewer ended up getting married on January 5, nearly 60 years after attending high school prom. (Photos courtesy Barb Cotton and Curtis Brewer)
After ‘going steady’ in high school, Barb Cotton and Curtis Brewer ended up getting married on January 5, nearly 60 years after attending high school prom. (Photos courtesy Barb Cotton and Curtis Brewer)

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