Talk about perfect timing: A romance 70 years in the making, just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Teen sweethearts Betty Hove and Jack Grosch saw each other for the first time since the 1940s just days before Valentine’s Day. HLN affiliate KXLY reports that Betty flew down to Georgia to see Jack after an online search helped them rekindle their teenage romance.
"I never got over this guy. He was always tucked away in a corner of my heart,” Betty said.
The two first met in a California grocery store where Jack worked. Betty says she was visiting her grandparents in Santa Monica for the summer when she met 17-year-old Jack.
"Dark curly hair, big brown eyes with eye lashes any girl would die for," she recalls.
They had an immediate connection, but it didn’t last long: Jack joined the Navy during the Second World War and Betty wasn’t sure she would see him again. She remembers watching “the news reel in the theaters” to make sure Jack was still alive, but no news came -- negative or positive -- and she moved on.
Two marriages and one child later, Betty never forgot about Jack. Recently widowed, Betty searched for Jack online and found him more than 2,500 miles away. The two exchanged holiday cards and phone calls before the New Year, and Betty decided to see Jack in person in February.
"I thought, 'What have I got to lose?'" Betty told HLN affiliate WALB.
Jack told KXLY he couldn’t believe he was seeing Betty for the first time in seven decades. Both are now in their 80s, but apparently the spark is still there: The first thing he wanted to do when he saw her? “Get close enough to hug her and kiss her,” Jack said.
What’s your favorite Valentine’s Day story?
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