'It's a full partnership': Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter on 75 years of marriage

Decades after falling in love, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter are still together in the same US town where they were born, grew up and had that first outing as a couple.

In between, they have travelled the world as naval officer and military spouse, American president and first lady, and finally as human rights and public health ambassadors.

“It’s a full partnership,” the 39th US president told AP before the couple’s 75th wedding anniversary on July 7.

Mr Carter, 96, has often said since leaving the Oval Office in 1981 that the most important decision he ever made was not as head of state, commander-in-chief or even executive officer of a nuclear submarine in the early years of the Cold War. It was falling for Eleanor Rosalynn Smith in 1945 and marrying her the following summer.

“My biggest secret is to marry the right person if you want to have a long-lasting marriage,” Mr Carter said.

The couple offered a few other tips for an enduring bond.

“Every day there needs to be reconciliation and communication between the two spouses,” Mr Carter said. “We don’t go to sleep with some remaining differences between us.”

Mrs Carter, 93, told of the importance of finding common interests.

She said that even now, “Jimmy and I are always looking for things to do together", but “each should have some space. That’s really important".

As first lady, Mrs Carter carved her own identity while supporting her husband.

Building on her predecessors’ efforts to highlight special causes, she worked alongside her husband’s aides on key legislation, especially dealing with health care and mental health.

Mrs Carter continued that focus as the couple built the Carter Centre in Atlanta after their White House years.

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter in 1978 during their White House years. AP Photo

Early in their marriage, Jimmy was on course for a career in the US Navy and Rosalynn appreciated their life beyond Plains.

But when James Earl Carter Sr became sick and died in 1953, his son cut short his navy career and decided the family would return to rural Georgia.

“We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics,” Mrs Carter told AP.

“I knew more on paper about the business than he did. He would take my advice about things,” she said, drawing a laugh and confirmation from her husband.

The Carters plan to celebrate their own marriage milestone a few days after their anniversary with a party in Plains.

“We have too many people invited,” Mrs Carter said with a smile. “I’m actually praying for some turndowns and regrets.”

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