Ken and Maureen Vanderslice were watching her grandchildren go tubing during a family boat outing when she turned to her husband.
“You really want to do that, don’t you?” asked Maureen, 79.
“Yes, I do,” replied Ken, 89.
“Let’s go,” she said.
Maureen’s family was in shock. She had never gone tubing, and it was entirely out of character. They didn’t have bathing suits, so the husband and wife got in the water in their jeans.
“I definitely wouldn’t have done that before,” Maureen said.
A video of the tube ride went viral on TikTok with more than 2.6 million views after Maureen’s granddaughter shared it. The couple, both widowed residents of a senior living community outside of Dallas, said the video captures something neither expected at this stage of life: new love, and a new appetite for adventure.
“It wasn’t in my playbook,” Maureen said. “Not at all.”
Maureen’s husband died in 2019, and Ken’s wife died in 2021. Both said they struggled with loneliness.
“When you live in a place like this, there are so many activities to do, and you keep busy during the day. But at 5 o’clock, you go in your apartment, and you close the door and it’s very lonely,” Maureen said.
Ken and Maureen first met at their senior living community about four years ago, but Ken moved out shortly after. He lived on and off with his daughters and traveled but realized it wasn’t the life for him.
“I found myself kind of marooned,” he said. “I needed the companionship and company of other people.”
He moved back to the community last November. That’s when he ran into Maureen in the hallway.
“Maureen!” he recalled excitedly greeting her. “I didn’t know you still lived here.”
They chatted for a bit, and afterward, they both said, they had a small crush. A few days later, Ken was reading a book in the laundry room while he waited for his clothes, when a friend told him Maureen was on her way. His heart fluttered.
“I could see her coming and there she was,” he said. “I jumped up like a jackrabbit.”
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They decided to meet for happy hour the following day.
“From that time on, we kind of clicked and held hands and went places and went for walks and talked and had a great time,” Ken said.
Maureen called her daughter to tell her about her new boyfriend.
“I said, ‘I met somebody and I’m really smitten,’” Maureen told her daughter.
They turned out to have much in common. They attend the same church, start each morning with a Bible study, and enjoy walks and eating out with friends. Both are avid readers, so they started a little book club between them, reading the same book at the same time and talking it over.
They said they spend a lot of time laughing, too.
“We enjoy each other’s company very much,” Ken said. “We argue a bit but in a friendly way. It’s stimulating conversations.”
In late April, they went for a long walk and sat on a bench as the sun set. Ken said he had never imagined marrying again, but in that moment, he felt pulled to ask her.
“I knew then that she was the girl for me,” Ken said. “I thought, ‘Oh gosh, she’s going to think I’m the craziest guy in the world.’”
He walked Maureen back to her apartment and they kissed for the first time.
“I think we should get married,” Ken said to Maureen.
“I think we should, too,” Maureen replied.
“I went right to heaven,” Ken said.
Their families were thrilled, including each of their two children and collective eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Since their engagement, Ken has delivered a single white rose to Maureen every week to show his love.
“It’s really so sweet,” Maureen said.
On June 20, the couple married at their church, then had a relaxed reception with family and friends at the senior living community. Ken wore a shirt and khakis, and Maureen wore a short cream lace dress with cowboy boots.
“Ken had family members come from all over the country,” Maureen said. “People here were so excited.”
The newlyweds moved in together right after their wedding.
“I couldn’t find a better partner than Maureen,” Ken said.
The couple said they hope to inspire other older adults to get out of their comfort zones.
“There is more to look forward to than to look back on,” Ken said. “They need to get out … to live the best they can.”
His wife agreed.
“We hope that we can help people get out of their apartments and meet each other and do things together,” she said.
Maureen said Ken has brought out her youthful and adventurous side. Beyond tubing, she has also become more open to travel. The couple recently vacationed in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
“I am happier than I’ve ever been,” she said.
The post Widowed and lonely, they wed at 79 and 89 — and found a taste for adventure appeared first on Washington Post.
