America’s oldest newlyweds who just got married at 96 reveal how they got engaged after the groom showed the bride his huge walk-in closet
A newlywed couple from Kansas got married at the age of 96 after finding love while playing pool at their retirement home.
The story of both widowers, Doris Kriks and Carl Kruse, is not conventional, but nevertheless moving – and shows how rivalry can sometimes lead to something romantic.
Their ill-fated games – which Kruse admitted Kriks almost always won – eventually culminated in a full-blown romance, one that initially went unrequited and felt only by the eventual groom.
After a failed proposal and several more losses, Kruse eventually opted for a different strategy – this one involving a different kind of proposal.
Instead of appealing to his future husband’s feelings, he took a more utilitarian approach: He showed her a larger unit they could move to when they tied the knot. The gamble worked, he said, when Kriks saw the room’s large walk-in closet.
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Both widowers are 96 years old. The story of Doris Kriks and Carl Kruse is not conventional, but still moving – and shows how rivalry can sometimes lead to something romantic
The couple married last month after meeting at their retirement community in Kansas, with Kruse falling in love over a few one-sided games of pool.
With three previous marriages between the two of them, the couple tied the knot, becoming the oldest newlyweds in the country.
They sat down with CBS Evening News’ Steve Hartman to recall their unlikely love story at the Good Samaritan Society-Cedar Lake Village senior living community in Olathe.
It started, Kruse recalled, at the complex’s pool table.
“She was a really good pool player,” the self-proclaimed pool shark noted of their early clashes, which began when Kriks moved here about two years ago.
At the time, Kruse considered himself one of the best billiards players in the building, he said — until Kriks came in and stole the thunder from him.
“Yes, I was absolutely surprised,” Kruse told the channel about Kriks’ billiards qualities, which quickly became apparent with each loss.
“She’s a hustler,” the widow continued – as a visibly pleased Kriks snapped, “It’s a good feeling to hit men.”
The new couple had a good laugh before revealing how their rivalry led to something more within a year.
With three previous marriages between the two of them, the couple tied the knot, becoming the oldest newlyweds in the country.
They spoke with CBS on Friday to recall their unlikely love story at the Good Samaritan Society-Cedar Lake Village senior living community in Olathe.
On its website, the facility touts how it offers residents the “benefits of a personalized lifestyle combined with the security of community living” – things that have allowed this relationship to flourish.
Kruse, a retired chemistry professor, recalled how both he and Kriks, a former accountant, realized with each game that they were more excited to see each other than to confront the felt.
They soon started meeting outside their pool table after realizing they both had another shared interest: music.
Kruse, who was married once before and lost his wife to pancreatic cancer in 2010, plays the violin, and Kriks, who lost a husband to cancer and was married twice before moving to Cedar Lake, is a pianist.
The duo soon decided to make music together, which resulted in duets that regularly warmed the ears of other residents.
While this was happening, the couple also warmed up to each other, which led to Kruse proposing and trying another relationship.
However, Kriks responded with a firm ‘no’, which set off the next phase of their whirlwind journey.
“I wasn’t looking for a man,” Kriks explained on Friday, sitting next to her lover.
It started, Kruse recalled, at the facility’s pool table, with Kriks beating Kruse several times before discovering they had other shared interests.
Kruse, a retired chemistry professor, recalled how both he and Kriks, a former accountant, realized with each game that they were more excited to see each other than to face each other.
They soon began meeting outside their pool table, after realizing they both had another shared interest: music – with Kriks, an accomplished pianist, and Kruse, a savant on the violin.
After a failed proposal and several more losses, Kruse ultimately opted for a different strategy: showing off a walk-in closet in a larger apartment where they have since moved.
She told Hartman how she said “yes” to her now husband on the spot – before showing the new storage unit to the reporter.
“He told me that he did everything he could to make it a happy marriage,” Kriks said a few weeks after their wedding ceremony in the residential care center. ‘It warms my heart’
Kruse, meanwhile, noted that despite the initial rejection, he felt he still had a chance, telling Hartman, “I thought, like she said, it wasn’t like it was never going to be like that.”
Kruse, meanwhile, noted that despite the rejection, he felt like he still had a chance, telling Hartman, “I thought like she said, it wasn’t like it was never going to be like that.”
That stubbornness – along with some quick thinking about how to better appeal to his future crush – soon paid off, but only after he showed her the larger apartment he had in mind where they could live.
The highlight, however, was the unit’s walk-in closet.
“I thought, ‘Oh, this is kind of nice,’” Kriks recalled of the second-floor room where they now live. “Then he showed me the walk-in closet.”
Her eyes clear, she recalled, “I thought, ‘This could work.'”
She told Hartman how she said “yes” to her now husband on the spot – before showing the new storage unit to the reporter.
“He told me that he was determined to make this marriage a happy marriage,” Kriks said a few weeks after their ceremony at the residential care center. ‘It warms my heart.’
After the ceremony, the couple enjoyed a nice dinner with their family and friends, they said. When asked where they would honeymoon, Kriks – now Kriks-Kruse – said: ‘Our new apartment’
On its website, the facility touts how it offers residents the “benefits of a personalized lifestyle combined with the security of community living” – things that have allowed this relationship to flourish.
After the ceremony, the couple enjoyed a nice dinner with their family and friends, they said.
There, family and friends could ask the couple questions.
“They asked if Carl had served in the military, and where we were going on our honeymoon,” Kriks – now Kriks-Kruse – recalled.
“I said, ‘Our new apartment.'”