Woman finally gets to marry her first love at 78 after her parents banned her from doing it when she was 18

A woman has finally married the love of her life at 78 after her family banned her from doing so when she was a teen.

The couple first tried to marry all the way back in 1963, however they were forced to separate after the bride's family disapproved of her groom.

Len Allbrighton, 79, and Jeanette Steer, 78, met as trainee nurses on the Isle of Wight.

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Shortly after, they planned to relocate to Australia and start their life together.

However, as Jeanette was 18 then, she needed to obtain consent from her parents, as the legal age to get married was 21 in the sixties.

But, to Jeanette’s dismay, her parents didn’t give their blessing.

After the marriage didn’t go according to plan, Lenny managed to relocate to Australia and left poor Jeanette behind.

Len built a house in Australia on the land he had originally bought to make a home with Jeanette.

He eventually married and had three children, while Jeanette stayed in her hometown.

She also married and had two children of her own.

But like an M. Night Shyamalan twist, Len’s long-time marriage ended in 2015.

He then wanted to reconnect with Jeanette but feared she wouldn’t remember him.

He travelled down to Newport, where he looked up her address in the electoral role in Newport library.

“I was daunted not knowing what her reaction would be or if I would even see her. I went on the off chance. It was not an easy place to find but I did,” he said.

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Len then went to her garden fence, to which Jeanette came outside to see who it was.

Jeanette, who was still married to her first husband at the time, didn't recognise Len but was shocked when he revealed his identity.

“I nearly died when I realised it was him standing by my garden fence,” she said.

However, Jeanette shooed Len away and told her husband he was a stranger lost, asking for directions.

But two years later, Jeanette's husband sadly died from cancer.

Following his death, Jeanette and Len reunited again when she found his address in a Christmas card he had previously sent her.

After she tracked him down, their romance blossomed, and Len invited Jeanette to live with him in Stevenage.

He proposed to her last year, and the two wed last month in a private ceremony, to which one of Jeanette’s daughters gave her away.

“Married life is fantastic - it couldn't be better,” she said.