A couple in their 90s known as ‘Mo and Jo’ who have lived together for 37 years are finally getting married – after he proposed while she was having a heart attack.
Maurice Benton, 90, and Joanne Orris, 92 – better known as ‘Team Mo and Jo’ – decided to tie the knot during the medical emergency at their home.
Jo agreed to take the plunge while she was in the grips of a cardiac arrest on March 3rd after years of turning down Mo’s regular proposals.
And she later joked that he was so shocked by her acceptance it almost caused him to have a heart attack of his own.
She has now recovered from the health scare and the couple are busy making plans for their big day next month.
Recalling the proposal, Jo, of Curry Rivel, Somerset, said: “I said to him, ‘I feel so ill’.
“He said, ‘I can’t do anything for you, so I’ll ring 999’.
“He came forward and knelt down. He said, ‘I’m sorry I can’t take this pain away from you. Will you marry me?’
“I’ve always said no in the past, but my heart attack made us realise perhaps we haven’t got so many years left, so we’ll get married after all.
“I’d always said we were alright as we were, living as if we were a married couple.
“It’s been a big joke that I’d rather be a mistress than a wife.
“When I said yes, I think Maurice was so shocked, he nearly had a heart attack as well.
“We’ve been laughing ever since. And it means there won’t be any problems with the taxman.”
When the vicar and registrar conduct the wedding in the couple’s home on Saturday, March 19, it will be Jo’s third nuptials – she divorced her first husband, while the second died in his 50s.
Jo, who has two children, six grandchildren, six great grandchildren and two great great grandchildren, added: “Everyone’s really thrilled for us, although most of our friends and my cousin said they thought we were already married.”
Mo, who has two daughters and five grandchildren, said: “I’ll still be her slave, doing all the washing and ironing.
“Jo’s not so mobile, but fortunately, she’s got a sharp brain like nobody else.
“It was about time she made an honest man of me.”
Mo and Jo became known as the Perfect Strangers when they sent anonymous letters and parcels to British troops serving in the Iraq War.
They were also made honorary Gurkhas for their fundraising efforts for members of our armed forces.
