Couple married 73 years reunited after yearlong COVID separation
A couple married for more than seven decades was separated for almost a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But on March 22, the pair were finally reunited in a heartbreaking scene — which was recorded on video and has now gone viral.
Margaret Louise Baldwin Bigler, 97, hadn’t seen her husband of 73 years, Joseph Andrew Bigler, 96, since she was admitted to long-term HarmarVillage Care Center in Cheswick, Pennsylvania, on April 7, 2020, following a hospital stay. Her beloved hubby remained in independent living, unable to visit her during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Oh my God!” Margaret said repeatedly as the two embraced from their wheelchairs and snuggled their faces into each other’s shoulders after Joseph was admitted to an attached care home in March, SWNS reported.
“It had been hard not seeing Joe, and very sad,” said Margaret, who married Joe — a retired excavation company worker — on May 31, 1948. The day they reunited, she added, was one of the best of her life.
“Words cannot describe how it was to be able to hug her again after almost a year,” said Joe, saying their time apart was “hell” while admitting he is “very grateful” for the care Margaret received at the home, despite the emotional toll of its safety protocol.
“Staff were very excited to see them together again,” said facility worker Holly Bills. “It was a happy day for all.”
“A year later and finally these two love birds got to be reunited. Not a dry eye in sight,” the care home captioned the viral video, which was uploaded to its Facebook page on March 22. It has since garnered more than 5 million views and topped 44,000 likes.
Now that Joe is a resident at the attached facility, Department of Health guidelines make it easier for the two to regularly visit one another.
