This heart-warming video captures the moment a couple married for 54 years were reunited at a care home after spending their first Christmas apart since they met.
Colin Bagshaw, 75, had been separated from his beloved wife Jane, 72, for two months after he suffered a stroke in November.
Jane was diagnosed with dementia two years ago and was cared for by Colin at home but she had to move into Oulton Manor care home in Leeds, West Yorks., when he went into hospital.
Covid rules meant they could not see each other and it was the longest they had ever been apart since they first met.
But after two months apart, Colin was discharged and decided to move into the same care home at the end of January so he could be with his wife once safety procedures were met.
In the emotional video, staff take Jane to Colin’s room where he is waiting in a chair for her arrival.
He beams: “You look lovely, you are lovely. You’re gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous.”
Staff at the care home said Jane had found it difficult to be away from Colin and she asked after him every day.
In the video, she breaks down as she approaches Colin and plants a kiss on his head before the couple embrace.
Since reuniting, the pair have been inseparable and Jane’s mood has lifted immeasurably, they added.
Care home staff were so moved by the couple’s story they hosted a special romantic meal for them on Valentine’s Day, to celebrate their love.
They now plan to live together in the care home long-term.
Colin said: “It was marvellous to be reunited with Jane. I have missed Jane so much. We have never been apart for so long.
“Getting to be with her again is all I wanted and seeing her looking so well is wonderful.”
The couple first met at a pub in Morley, Leeds, in 1965 when Colin says he “used his charm to attract “beautiful Jane away from many other suitors”.
Colin joked: “If I had a pound for every time I travelled to see Jane while we were courting, I would be a rich man.”
They married on April 4, 1966, and travelled from Lands’ End to John O’ Groats for their honeymoon.
The couple, who loved travelling, retired to Scarborough, but said they are glad to be back in Leeds as it is a place with so many happy memories.
Michelle Rhodes, Manager at Anchor Hanover’s Oulton Manor care home, said: “It was so lovely to see Colin and Jane reunite after so long apart.
“The change in Jane was remarkable – her face positively lit up when she saw him, and Colin’s been reminiscing a lot about when they first met and how he ‘smooth-talked’ her.”
Emma Bagshaw, Colin’s niece, said: “We are so relieved that Uncle Colin and Auntie Jane can be together again.
“It has been a tough few months due to poor health and the pandemic but finally Colin and Jane are together where they are most happy and can be cared for and safe.”
