A DEVOTED couple, who walked down the aisle when they were teenagers, will soon be celebrating their Ruby wedding anniversary.

Jackie and Peter Johnson, who live in Dovercourt, were supposed to travel to the Maldives to mark their 40-year marriage on Sunday, May 24.

But this has been postponed until next year due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Jackie, now 58, said: “We will have a little meal for two at home and when all this is over and when we are allowed to socialise again, we will have a party.

“We thought we’d do something special for our Ruby anniversary.

“It was on Peter’s bucket list to visit the Maldives, so we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to go.”

The couple met at the Harwich and Dovercourt High School when Jackie was only 13 and Peter was 16.

They had gotten engaged when Jackie was 16 and got married when she turned 18.

The couple has two sons, Trevor and Lee Johnson.

Jackie said the key to a happy and long marriage is to “work your way through the bumps and not give up”.

“I think back then the relationships weren’t so serious, nowadays they get so deep so soon. We had more of a friendship rather than a boy and girl relationship at first.

“We should be proud we’ve been together for 40 years, as not a lot of marriages last this long these days. It is quite nice.

“It is an achievement to celebrate our ruby anniversary,” she added.

“Nobody will have a perfect marriage from start to finish, but you just have to work your way through it and never give up on each other.”