Jimmy Carter's 75-Year-Old Love Letter to Wife Rosalynn Shared Through Tears by Their Daughter Amy
"My mom spent most of her life in love with my dad," Amy says in a video shared by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s love story is one for the ages.
On Thursday, Jan. 9 — the day of former President Jimmy Carter’s state funeral — President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden shared a joint Instagram video offering a glimpse at the Carters' lifelong love story.
In the video, the couple's daughter Amy tearfully reads a love letter the former president wrote to his wife Rosalynn.
“My mom spent most of her life in love with my dad,” Amy begins in her voiceover for the video, which shows paintings of Jimmy and Rosalynn being hung next to one another. “This is from a letter he wrote 75 years ago.”
Reading her father's letter, Amy says, “My darling, every time I have ever been away from you, I have been thrilled when I returned to discover just how wonderful you are. While I’m away I try to convince myself that you really are not, could not be, as sweet and beautiful as I remember.”
“But when I see you," the letter continues, "I fall in love with you all over again.”
The Bidens captioned the Instagram post, “Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter had a love story for the ages.”
They added, “We miss them both dearly, but take comfort knowing they are reunited once again. To the entire Carter family, thank you for sharing them with America and the world.”
Jimmy and Rosalynn wed on July 7, 1946, and were married for 77 years until the former first lady's death at age 96 in 2023, making their marriage the longest in the history of U.S. presidents. The pair met when Jimmy was 3 years old and Rosalynn was a newborn and went on to have four children, 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Five years before his death on Dec. 29 at 100, Jimmy shared with PEOPLE why he believed he had a long life.
“I think the best explanation for that is to marry the best spouse: someone who will take care of you and engage and do things to challenge you and keep you alive and interested in life," he said.
Related: Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter's Relationship Timeline: Inside Their 77-Year Marriage
The couple also attributed their longevity to giving each other space, as well as their shared passion for service: Into their 90s, they traveled around the world — building houses in Nepal and his home state of Georgia with Habitat for Humanity, or fighting river blindness in South Sudan — with the Carter Center.
Robert Franklin/South Bend Tribune via AP
“We knew that we had undertaken a major and very enjoyable hobby on the side,” he told PEOPLE about the Carter Project. “We stayed busy doing other things, but we devoted 36 years to Habitat.”
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Carter will be buried alongside Rosalynn in a plot visible from the front porch of their home in Plains, Georgia.
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