My wife and I met when she was 16, and I was 20. This was about late '79, the age difference wasn't such a big deal back in those days. I instantly fell in love and we dated for the next two years. I begged her to marry me all during that time, her parents loved me and encouraged her to say yes, but she was young and having fun. After two years, her family moved out of the area, to Washington state. Twice I made the long drive up there to try and convince her to come back with me and start a family, she still wasn't ready. The distance proved too much and we lost touch eventually.
Fast-forward some 30 years. I had ended up marrying someone else, we raised a beautiful daughter together but the marriage wasn't working after 23 years and we had a "friendly" divorce. My ex wife and I are still good friends. But a year after the divorce, the current Mrs. GWU found me on the internet and we re-connected after over 3 decades. I discovered that I still loved her deeply and she was willing to give it a shot, finally. So we married at the County Clerk's office early one Friday morning, with my adult daughter as a witness. I got a second chance at the One That Got Away.
We've been married now for 9 years and she grudgingly admits that maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if she had married me all those years ago, lol. We each only had one daughter by our prior marriages and they get along as step-sisters, are close to the same age though her daughter lives in Florida currently.