{"id":183150,"date":"2018-05-28T09:09:46","date_gmt":"2018-05-28T13:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=183150"},"modified":"2020-12-30T23:07:39","modified_gmt":"2020-12-31T05:07:39","slug":"married-down-syndrome-23-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/married-down-syndrome-23-years\/","title":{"rendered":"‘First married couple with Down syndrome’ celebrates 23 years of marriage"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Anything is possible with love and there should be no limitations for anyone, no matter what their circumstances are.<\/em> These are the words of Lindi Newman, whose sister Maryanne Pilling has been happily married since 1995. But what makes this relationship special is the fact that Maryanne and her husband Tommy both have Down syndrome.<\/p>\n

Newman operates a Facebook page<\/a> celebrating the decades-long love of Maryanne and Tommy. “The day Maryanne met Tommy she came home with the biggest smile on her face. She couldn\u2019t stop talking about him and asked if he could come for dinner,” Newman said, according to the Western Journal<\/a>. The couple met at a training center for people with disabilities in 1990, and dated for 18 months before Tommy proposed. He couldn’t afford a ring, but Maryanne’s mother, Linda, took him to a jewelry store to find a proper one. The couple was overjoyed to get married.<\/p>\n

But not everyone approved. According to the Journal, “many people even criticized Linda for allowing it in the first place. Many said it simply wouldn\u2019t last and didn\u2019t believe that people with Down syndrome could, or even should, be in a serious relationship.”<\/p>\n

But according to their family, every day, Maryanne and Tommy prove the naysayers wrong, because their love and commitment to each other have stood the test of time.<\/p>\n

“When they walk down the street holding hands they make a statement but in a good way,\u201d Maryanne’s sister says, adding that many people assume that those with disabilities can’t (or shouldn’t) be married. “What keeps their marriage so strong is that there is never a hidden agenda. They love each other with their whole hearts and are honest with one another.”<\/p>\n

Maryanne says her wedding was “the best day of my life” and that she was “shocked” at Tommy’s proposal, “but I didn’t have to think twice about saying yes.” She adds, “Tommy and I never argue. I love my husband very much. He is my best friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the video below, the married couple is said to be the first with Down syndrome:<\/p>\n