Love is a good thing and one to be desired. But sometimes, when we consider the rate at which people fall in and out of love, you may be tempted to give it a second thought!

That is why, when we find people who have mastered the game of love and learned how to stay strung together through thick and thin, it is always a great joy.

A great example of what many are calling one of the greatest love stories is one of Sophia Loren and Carlo Ponti

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How it all started

Sophia met her would-be husband in Italy in 1950, when she was just 15. Though she didn’t exactly know he was going to be her husband, Carlo, on the other hand, had a love at first sight experience.

The moment he set eyes on her, the 37-year-old beauty pageant judge knew she was going to be his wife even though he was married at the time.

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Public sinners: Legal issues and public judgement caused by their marriage

The couple came together in matrimony on September 17th, 1957, but not before Carlo obtained a divorce in Mexico. However, the union of Carlo and Sophia was soon greeted with a legal charge of bigamy.

This led to several years of courtroom proceedings before he could be cleared. However, seeing there was nothing else to do, the couple went on to annul their marriage in 1962. When speaking about their first marriage, Sophia said:

I was being threatened with excommunication, with the everlasting fire, and for what reason? I had fallen in love with a man whose own marriage had ended long before… I wanted to be his wife and have his children.

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Iconic couple: The second wedding and love that conquers death

After about 4 years, the couple relocated to France where Carlo was able to legally obtain a divorce and then remarry. They tied the knot again on April 9th, 1966 and continued their happy life.

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They went on to have two children – Carlo Jr. and Edoardo and lived happily ever after until Carlo’s demise in 2007. Following the death of her husband, Sophia was asked if she would be remarrying but she said:

No, never again, … It would be impossible to love anyone else.

When you talk about love that has withstood the test of time, gone through the fire, and is still standing strong, then you talk about Carlo and Sophia’s story. It is quite a touching one and an encouragement to marriages in this age and time.