My wife and I have been together since 1986. I graduated in '86

In the words of Cuba Gooding, Jr., “My wife and I have been together since 1986. I graduated in '86 and she graduated in '88. We began dating when she was 17. Actually she turned 18 when we started kissing and stuff.” — there lies, beneath its humble humor, a profound testimony to the power of enduring love, youthful beginnings, and shared growth through time. It is the voice of a man reflecting not merely on years spent together, but on a journey — one that began in innocence and ripened into companionship. His words, though casual, speak to something ancient: the sacred bond of two souls who grow not apart, but alongside one another, weathering the seasons of life hand in hand.

To understand the depth of this quote, one must look beyond its surface levity. When Cuba Gooding, Jr. recalls those early days of affection — the threshold between youth and adulthood — he evokes that universal moment when love first takes root in the heart. It is that tender dawn when the world is wide and untested, yet two hearts find courage to walk it together. His memory of 1986 is more than a date; it is a symbol of loyalty through time, a living chronicle of devotion that stretches across decades. To remain with one person from youth into maturity is no small feat — it is to share not just love, but evolution, triumph, and trial.

The ancients would have seen in this the reflection of Odysseus and Penelope, the steadfast couple of Greek legend. While Odysseus sailed through storms and temptations, Penelope held faith through years of absence. Their love endured because it was not built upon fleeting desire, but upon the foundation of trust and shared purpose. Likewise, Gooding’s words remind us that the truest relationships are not defined by passion alone, but by constancy — the quiet heroism of choosing each other again and again, even as life transforms both the lover and the beloved.

When he says, “we began dating when she was 17... she turned 18 when we started kissing,” his tone is light, yet there is an innocence in this recollection — a purity of beginnings that stands in contrast to the restless, disposable loves of modern times. It speaks of a world where love was not rushed, where affection grew slowly, like a seed nurtured by patience. The ancients called this kind of devotion eros ennobled by virtue — desire refined by respect. It is the kind of love that does not consume, but builds; not a flame that burns quickly, but an ember that endures the long night.

From the humor of his words rises something profoundly tender — the story of two people who have built a life across decades, from youthful playfulness to adult resilience. The years between 1986 and the present hold within them laughter, hardship, forgiveness, and growth — the silent marks of love’s real work. For true partnership is not the song of a single summer; it is a lifelong symphony, filled with changing movements — some bright, some solemn, all united by harmony. To stay together across time is to accept imperfection, to learn compassion, and to choose understanding over pride.

Consider the life of Marcus Aurelius, the Roman philosopher-emperor, who in his Meditations often spoke of the fleeting nature of time and the beauty of shared humanity. He wrote, “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to breathe, to think, to love.” In Cuba Gooding Jr.’s reflection, that same reverence for continuity shines through — the joy of waking beside the same soul year after year, growing older but never growing apart. It is the quiet strength of commitment, the nobility of familiarity, the grace of knowing and being known completely.

And so, from this simple, almost playful memory, we draw a timeless lesson: Love is not measured by passion alone, but by perseverance. To love well is to grow with another — to let time polish two spirits into one enduring shape. Cherish the person who has known you in your beginnings and stands beside you still; for such companionship is a treasure beyond fame or fortune. Be gentle with your beloved, patient in storms, joyful in small things, and faithful in heart.

Let this truth be passed down as wisdom for all generations: real love is both laughter and labor, both youth and age, both fire and endurance. The years will change your faces, your dreams, your paths — but if you walk them together, hand in hand, then every wrinkle becomes a line of poetry, and every shared memory a monument of devotion. Thus spoke Cuba Gooding, Jr., perhaps without intending to preach, but his words echo an ancient truth: that the love which begins in innocence and grows through time is the most sacred art of all — the art of staying.