Couple Reunites 42 Years After Racism Broke Them Up

The idea driving this long-form video profile was to inspire, connect and uplift people with a story of true love and family caregiving. It is part of AARP’s Real People, Real Stories series, which celebrates ordinary individuals from diverse backgrounds whose actions have made an extraordinary impact on themselves and a wider community.

Our goals were to establish trust with the couple during production, capture an authentic interview and footage of them together, and accurately portray the challenges and beauty of their reconnection. We aimed to publish ahead of the 55th anniversary of Loving Day in June 2022, which marks the 1967 Supreme Court decision legalizing interracial marriage in the U.S.

This story highlighted key AARP social mission themes of caregiving and storytelling through authentic, multicultural voices. It features Jeanne Gustavson (68) and Stephen Watts who were college sweethearts in the 70s. However, Gustavson’s family didn’t approve of her dating a black man and they were forced to break up. Forty-two years later, Gustavson was inspired to reach out to Watts to apologize. She found him in a nursing home, where he had been for 18 years after suffering a series of health issues. After reconnecting, Gustavson and Watts moved in together and she became his full-time caregiver.

This video exceeded our goals and expectations when it was published ahead of Loving Day in June 2022 on AARP’s Facebook page. It reached more than 1.6 million people and earned the most engagements of any AARP Facebook video last year, with more than 243,000 likes, comments, and shares. It also earned nearly 845,000 views, making it the most viewed Real People, Real Stories series video in 2022.

This video connected with our audiences, and comments poured in to underscore the video’s emotional impact.