6 Very Warm and Inspiring Black Love Stories

Jordan Rice and Jessica Moreland Jordan Rice and Jessica Moreland met each other through friends who believed they shared something very powerful: Both of them were widowed in their 20s. A little under two years after getting married, Rice lost his wife, Danielle, to a rare heart sarcoma in 2011 and Moreland lost her husband, Jarronn, in a motorcycle accident in 2009, just two and a half months after their wedding. So when friends mentioned Moreland’s story to Rice in 2012, he decided to take a leap of faith and reach out to her on Facebook. His friend request became the beginning of a unique Black love story. Each believed it would be impossible to find another person to love like they had before, but when they finally met in person, they talked for hours and say they knew upon the first encounter that their lives were about to change. “I knew, 100 percent, this was it,” Rice said. They were married on June 22. “We always laugh,” said Rice. “I stare into her eyes and feel so incredibly connected and hope and pray we have a long life together — though, that is not always promised.” http://youtu.be/lFon14QjmFw Ejike & Ogechi Asiegbu Veteran Nollywood actor Ejike Asiegbu and his wife Ogechi have you been married for 16 years after meeting while co-starring in a movie. The Nigerian film star said it was not easy convincing Ogechi to give him a chance. He tried to get to her through other people, but it wasn't until he initiated a friendship that he earned a chance to get to know her. Asiegbu recalled being at a point in his life where he wanted to settle down and was praying and fasting for God to show him his wife, who would love, tolerate, and understand him, and persevere with him as he grew in life. Around the time of his birthday in 1996, a year into the couple's relationship, the actor says he got the sign: "It was going to be my birthday and I had to travel back to be with my sisters, who had made plans to host a party for me. I was to fly ADC. As my fiancée then, she had insisted that if I loved her, I should cancel my trip and celebrate my birthday with her. Reluctantly, I did. But you won't believe that the plane I was supposed to have flown crashed. That was the ADC plane that crashed in Ejirin on November 7, 1996. That was how she saved my life. I did not need to be convinced any further that she was for me. At that point I did not waste any more time. I went straight to my father and told him I had found a wife." Ejike boasts that their 16 years of marriage has been wonderful, and he's lucky to have Ogechi because she's everything he wanted in a woman and more. The couple said they deal with their challenges by living up to their promise to make it work at all costs. They have four children. Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher have had what may very well be the best reason to be on the books at Guinness World Records: The North Carolina couple went down in history for having the longest marriage. The two married May 13, 1924, and had been married for 86 years at the time of Herbert Fisher’s death on Feb. 27, 2011. He was 105 when he died. The Fishers said they got along well together. On Valentine’s Day a few years ago, they took to their Twitter page (yes, they have a Twitter page) to share their secret for building a lasting marriage. They advise couples that at the end of a bad relationship day they should "remember marriage is not a contest – never keep a score. God has put the two of you together on the same team to win" Earlier this year, Zelmyra G. Fisher joined her husband after passing away peacefully at her North Carolina home. She was 105 years old. Arthur & Ruby Lawrence At the ages of 16 and 18, Arthur and Ruby Lawrence got married on the back porch of a farmhouse in Wake Forest, North Carolina. After a brief celebration of fried fish and lemonade, they began their lives as a family - going on to have nine children. The Lawrences moved up north for better employment opportunities and have lived in the same home in Rhode Island since around 1945. They became a 'power couple,' embarking on great endeavors in their time from starting a church in their home in 1952, to establishing a scholarship fund that has recently honored six students with scholarships to major universities across America. A North Carolina community center was also named after them. President Obama and First Lady Michele sent a letter of recognition to commemorate the Lawrence’s 70th Anniversary. The Lawrence's best advice to Black couples is: "you have to always forgive them. You don’t forget but you have to forgive. You never forget nothing I don’t care what it is. You will always think about it forever but you have to forgive or you wont be forgiven." Chris & Shanté Superville Nursing student Shanté Harris-Superville found the love of her life in the last place any woman would expect to meet her husband. She met Chris Superville back in middle school in 1992, and they became best friends. Throughout her childhood, Chris was always the person Shanté could confide in. “We talked on the phone every single day that summer, and we practically had every class together,” she recalls. “We’d always call each other while watching cartoons after school and then talk all evening.” They remained close even when they both were in serious relationships with other people. Shanté got married and had a son, Dylan, who was diagnosed with autism when he was 2 years old. At age 22, Shanté was diagnosed with stage three Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and despite her best efforts, her marriage fell apart. After Shanté got a divorce, Chris, who recently broke up with his fiancee, provided a shoulder for her to lean on. He confessed to Shante' that he’d always been in love with her. Shanté’s cancer has been in remission for 11 years now. The happy couple recently celebrated their two-year anniversary and started a non-profit organization called F.A.C.E (Facing Autism with Children Everywhere) to help raise awareness about the number of children who are diagnosed with autism each year. Ralph and Tillie Lee Pullin After an incredible 75 years of marriage, Ralph and Tillie Lee Pullin are getting a lot of unexpected attention for being one of the longest-living married couples in Georgia. The McDonough couple tied the knot in 1938 after two years of dating. Mr. Pullin said that it was a strong attraction at first sight. “She had to sit on part of my knee! And that got my attention like– a live wire,” he said. Though their courtship has had its challenges -- for two years the pair had to keep their relationship secret from Mrs. Pullin’s mother, instead telling her that Mr. Pullin was dating his wife’s older sister -- their union is still going strong today. Their union has produced eight children, six grandchildren, 33 great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild, and another on the way. Now the Pullin's long-lasting devotion has been recognized in a proclamation from their mayor and a congratulatory letter from President Obama. When asked about the secret of their successful marriage, a tearful Mr. Pullin said they would not have gotten to this point without the grace of God. “Our marriage was like the ocean,” said Mr. Pullin. “I’m not trying to say big words, but you know how the ocean waves go up and down? At the bottom, God was there. And every time we hit bottom, God pushed us back up.”

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