Love is beautiful, and regardless of what age people feel the emotion, falling in love has made many happy. A certain grandmother is proving that love knows no bounds and can be gotten even when no one considers it possible. Janet Merryman went viral after her granddaughter posted a video of her trying on a wedding gown. Soon after that, she was invited to Good Morning America to share her story in a video posted on YouTube on April 26, 2023.
Merryman lost her first husband when she was in her 60s. Her husband died, and the tragedy dealt her a big blow. The pair met when she was 15, and they stayed together for decades. Merryman also had more troubles to contend with after her husband’s death. She developed colon cancer, and after she fought the diagnosis and recovered, doctors found a blood clot in her lung. However, the 80-year-old was a fighter, and she beat that as well.
“I honestly didn’t think I would be sitting here today,” she said.
Merryman took in her granddaughter, and after her little girl, Danielle Jefferson, left, she started feeling lonely. Jefferson interjected at this point and said:
“It puts me in tears just thinking about everything and just how happy I am that she’s happy and that she’s not alone.”
Jefferson’s reference to her grandmother’s happiness revolved around Merryman finding love a second time with her fiance. A video of the octogenarian trying on a wedding dress warmed the hearts of many who congratulated Merryman on finding love at her age.
Merryman picked out a bridal gown to the surprise of many in the store. The video posted on Good Morning America’s YouTube channel on April 26, 2023, showed her turning around and cat-walking in her white dress and pointed heels.
“Did I ever think I would be getting married at 80? Absolutely not,” she started in the clip. “Well, I picked out three (dresses), I think, and the first one I put on, I’m going, ‘Wow, this thing really looks good on.’”
Merryman wasn’t the only one who thought the dress was made for her. She became the cynosure of all eyes when all the other brides in the store turned to admire her and cheer for her.
“There were other brides who are trying on dresses who are stopping everything they were doing to look at her and what she was doing,” her granddaughter revealed.
Merryman found love a second time with a man 20 years her junior. She revealed that she and her fiance had been neighbors for seven years, but he was married with kids at the time. After seven years, he got divorced, and she started inviting him over for lunch to ease the loneliness and love that happened between them.
The woman also shared some advice for other women her age and encouraged them to keep hoping.
“If there’s any 80-year-old women out there. Take a chance. That’s all I can say. That’s what I’m doing,” she said. “I don’t have that many more years left and I’m happy now. Everybody used to say to me, ‘Why don’t you smile more?’ I smile a lot more now because he makes me laugh a lot,” she concluded with a big smile.
What do you think of Janet Merryman finding love at 80? Have you or anyone you know experienced this before? What was your experience? Let us know — and be sure to pass this on to friends and family who this story will inspire.
