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The 40-Year-Old Marriage: Long Lasting Soap Opera Couples

Published by

Alina Adams

7 months ago

Victor and Nikki aren't the only 40 year relationship on soaps, but they're in rare air.

Everybody knows that soap opera marriages don’t really last…at least not without some major hiccups. Victor announced that he’d throw them a fortieth-anniversary celebration on The Young and the Restless. Nikki pointed out that their first wedding was, in fact, forty years ago, but they hadn’t been married for forty years. There was the first divorce…the second divorce…the third…Victor roared that he didn’t care. If Victor said it’s been forty years, then it’s been forty years, you got that?

Four Decades…More or Less

What other soap opera couples have reached — or surpassed — this milestone? For the purpose of this accounting, we will only be counting couples who got married on the air and were together forty years later — no matter what happened in between. We are not counting couples who were already married when the shows began.

Time and Again

On Days of our Lives, Julie (Susan Seaforth Hayes) and Doug (the late Bill Hayes) first exchanged vows in 1976. (Two years after their portrayers tied the knot in real life). That marriage didn’t last long. There was crime, there was a fire, there were other lovers and spouses, long-lost kids, and much, much angst. They had another ceremony in 1981, and have been together since.

Find out who’s returning to DAYS for Doug’s memorial.

Nothing’s Going To Stop Us Now

Now this is how you commit! On All My Children, Ruth (Mary Fickett) and Joe (Ray McDonnell) wed in 1972 and made it all the way to the end of the show’s run in 2011, though Ruth was played by Lee Meriwether by then.

This iconic couple survived their children from former marriages falling in love, and an adopted son they adored — but who caused more than his fair share of parental heartache. Technically, they even outlasted Pine Valley’s ABC days, as Joe was featured on the Prospect Park reboot two years later (and Ruth was referenced, though not seen) — which brought them to forty years!

Close Enough

It wasn’t exactly a wedding when Kim (Kathryn Hayes) slept with her sister, Jennifer’s husband, Bob (Don Hastings), on As the World Turns in 1972. She and Bob didn’t technically tie the knot until 1985. But they were still together during the show’s last episode on September 17, 2010. That’s got to count for something. Even if they ended up two years short? But it wasn’t their fault! And until we’re told otherwise, we can keep pretending that Kim and Bob are living happily ever after…off-screen.

You’re Excused

The Bold and the Beautiful doesn’t have any couples who’ve lasted for forty years. That’s because B&B has not been on the air for forty years. They only premiered in 1987. Check back with us in 2027, and we’ll see if anyone is ready to join the pantheon then.

What other long-lasting soap couples can you think of? Sound off in the comments about your favorites.

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