President Joe Biden has been married to his wife Jill since 1977. The first couple of the US has an interesting history as they are both each other’s second spouse, their love story is unconventional and quite endearing.
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They have been there for each other through devastating loss and monumental joy and achievements. The Bidens, while together, defined what a balanced and supportive relationship entails through their dynamics.
So how did Joe and Jill Biden meet? And who were their spouses before they met?
Joe and Jill’s past lives
Before current US President Joe Biden met his wife, he was married to Neilia Hunter Biden, a teacher. She tragically passed away due to a car accident while taking her children to pick out a Christmas tree. Sadly, one-year-old Naomi, their daughter also passed away while their two sons were critically injured but survived. This happened when Biden was a 30-year-old senator. He admitted that he considered resigning during these difficult times but instead opted to remain in office and commute from Wilmington to the US Capitol daily to be with his boys, Beau and Hunter.
On the other hand, Jill, who was a few years younger than Joe was at University during this time. She was married to Bill Stevenson from 1970 to 1975 - their divorce greatly affected her emotionally and made her hesitant to engage in further romantic endeavours.
Joe meets Jill
In 1975, Joe Biden’s brother introduced him to Jill Taylor Jacobs. He was 33 and she was 24, in her senior year of college. He was widowed and she was divorced. The new first lady recalls while talking to Vogue:
I was a senior, and I had been dating guys in jeans and clogs and T-shirts, he came to the door and he had a sport coat and loafers, and I thought, God, this is never going to work, not in a million years
He was nine years older than I am! But we went out to see A Man and a Woman at the movie theatre in Philadelphia, and we really hit it off. When we came home ... he shook my hand good night ... I went upstairs and called my mother at 1:00 a.m. and said, "Mom, I finally met a gentleman."
They ended up getting married in 1977 after Joe had to propose 5 times. Jill was very hesitant to take any hasty steps as she was taking Joe’s children into account:
I said, Not yet. Not yet. Not yet. Because by that time, of course, I had fallen in love with the boys, and I really felt that this marriage had to work. Because they had lost their mom, and I couldn't have them lose another mother. So I had to be 100 per cent sure.
From then on, Jill stood by Joe’s side throughout his political career while maintaining her day job as a teacher. She eventually earned her PhD in education and became the first known second lady to hold a full-time job.
Read more:
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Sources:
The Independent: Jill Biden reveals initial thoughts when she first met Joe Biden: ‘Thank God it’s only one date’
History: Joe Biden loses first wife and daughter in tragic car accident
