They were awarded Saturday for the longest marriage in a competition against 375 other couples

The Rockeys had five sons and have even welcomed great-great-grandchildren into the family

A Kansas couple who have lived a 'wonderful life' together through eight decades of marriage won a competition for the longest-running married couple in the United States.

The couple's secret to their 81-year-long run, at least according to Alice Rockey, is that at the end of the day 'I always let him have my way.'

Alice and her husband Dale, both 99, say their romance began by chance one evening. They had planned to go on a double date, but each with another person.

Never parted: Dale and Alice Rockey, both 99, have weathered 81 years together and won a competition for longest-running marriage Saturday

Dale pulled up to Alice's house early, while his date was still at work, and found her sitting along on the porch, the Kansas City Star reports.

'He came by and says, "You want to go for a ride?"' Alice told the paper. 'So we went for a ride, and that was our first date.'

The two were later 'in the doghouse' with their original dates, but they didn't regret the decision to get an early start on things.

Alice married Dale, 'one of the handsomest guys in town,' in Nebraska, paying $2 for a marriage license on December 29, 1933.

The pair skipped off to Hot Springs, South Dakota, before making their home in a two-room apartment.

Dale worked in a garage that once belonged to his dad while Alice had a job with Iron Man early into the bodybuilding magazine's circulation, and eventually added five sons to the family.

Chance encounter: The couple had their first date on an evening when they planned to go out with other people, but Dale arrived early and took Alice for a drive

Young couple: The Rockeys paid $2 for their marriage license back in 1933 and honeymooned in Hot Springs, South Dakota

Secret to success: The Rockey's five sons are still marriage to their spouses, even as they reach their seventies, and credit their parents' influence

Back together: The couple moved into a two-room apartment in Kansas near one of their sons, where they live a 'fancy-free' life

The husband and wife from Olathe, Nebraska, beat out 375 other lovebirds to be awarded the prize as the longest-married couple in the United States.

Worldwide Marriage Encounter presented the Rockeys with the award at a ceremony Saturday, capping off the 2015 Longest Married Couple Project.

Their children may one day have a chance at the prize themselves, as their children are still together with their spouses as well.

'That’s probably the good example set by our parents,' said 79-year-old son Tom Rockey.

The couple retired in 1979 and traveled to 'all the southern states,' as their family added grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Now there are even great-great-grandchildren.

The two later moved to Olathe, an into Tom's house, when household chores like mowing the lawn became too difficult. They now share another cozy two-room apartment.

Alice said they spent their days in a 'fancy-free' way, going out for breakfast, working on crossword puzzles and waxing nostalgic.

Dick and Diane Baumbach, of the faith-based marriage-enrichment organization Worldwide Marriage Encounter, say the project only amazes outsiders.