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What does it take to end an almost eight-decade long relationship? The revelation of an affair 70 years earlier.

According to the Telegraph, an Italian couple, listed in court documents only as Antonio and Rosa C, are about to become the world’s oldest divorcées, ousting the 98-year old British former title holders. What lead to the demise of the long-lasting relationship? Seems that Antonio found love letters in an old chest of drawers that his now 96-year-old wife had written to a lover way back in the 1940s. He showed his wife of 77 years the letter and immediately demanded a divorce. When confronted with the evidence of her affair, Rosa confessed her long-ago infidelity. While Rosa seemed to hope that the confession would allow her to reconcile with her husband and the father of her five children, instead Antonio filed for divorce at the age of 99.

The couple, who met during the 1930s when Antonio was a young Carabinieri officer posted to Naples, have a dozen grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and eight decades together. Those ties that bind were apparently not enough to overlook the affair. According to the Telegraph, the couple’s relationship also hit a rough patch ten years ago, leading Antonio to move out of the family home and move in with one of his sons. Last time, the couple were able to reconcile after a few weeks. Hopefully Antonio will reconsider his decision this time, as well.

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