They say that the little things matter in a relationship. An older couple shows how true this statement is.
A grandfather who makes breakfast for his wife every day always includes a small, sweet gift of love.
Her granddaughter Anna shared her enchanting ritual with the world, setting a new standard for relationship goals.
Anna filmed her grandma and grandpa sitting next to each other on chairs while her grandma swiped through her phone and her grandpa peeled an orange.
“Every night my grandpa prepares breakfast for my grandma,” she explained. “He cuts an orange heart out of the orange peel, and she dries it and keeps it.”
She showed a long row of large glass jars on her kitchen cabinets. Each jar was filled with orange peel hearts.
“In their other apartment they have more glasses with hearts,” Anna said, noting that they have been married for over 40 years.
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According to 2018 U.S. Census data, the average length of a first marriage was 21 years. The average length of a second marriage was 17 years, and the average length of a third marriage or longer was 13 years.
Forty-one percent of married couples celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, but only 8 percent made it to their 50th wedding anniversary, highlighting how rare it is for a marriage to last over 40 years, as these grandparents did.
The 40th wedding anniversary is traditionally called the “ruby wedding anniversary.” According to wedding website The Knot, rubies represent a flame that never goes out. It is eternal, much like the love of a couple who have been married for four decades.
Rubies also bring luck, protection and courage, all things necessary for a lasting relationship.
It is clear that the grandparents’ love is still strong, which is reflected in the care they show for each other.
The fact that the grandfather prepares breakfast for his wife so that she has one less thing to think about each day is a small but tangible act of love, which is enhanced by his thoughtful little extra: the heart made of orange peel.
The fact that his grandmother keeps every orange peel heart he made for her is also an act of love.
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The grandparents’ orange peel ritual captured the hearts of the internet: 1.6 million people liked the post on TikTok.
Many people wrote in the comments that the grandfather’s continued devotion to preparing the orange peel for his wife every night was proof that he had fully mastered the orange peel theory of relationships.
The huge amount of attention the orange peel hearts attracted proves how deeply moving something so small can be and how much people long to see acts of love and kindness in the world.
As one woman put it, grandparents “casually show us the love of a lifetime, beautifully presented in pretty glasses.”
True romance is often thought of as a collection of grand, extravagant gestures, but as these grandparents demonstrated, it is so much more than lavish surprises. True romance is evident in the everyday ways we show ourselves to the people we love.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango’s news and entertainment team, covering social issues, pop culture, and all things entertainment.
