William Daniels and Bonnie Barlett Recall How Their Parents Weren't 'Approving of Our Marriage' (Exclusive)
"Bill had left the church. My family wanted it to be an Episcopalian and I said, 'No,'" Bonnie tells PEOPLE
William Daniels and Bonnie Bartlett Daniels wouldn't have made it to a record-breaking 73 years of marriage had they listened to their parents.
The couple got married on June 30, 1951, in Moline, Illinois. Many of their loved ones were in attendance, including the Boy Meets World vet's sisters. But Bonnie, 95, tells PEOPLE exclusively in a joint interview with William, 97, that both of their parents "didn't want to come, but then they said they would."
"Neither of our parents were approving of our marriage," the Middle of the Rainbow author continues. "Bill had left the church. My family wanted it to be an Episcopalian and I said, 'No.'"
"I had preached a sermon when I was 18 at the church there called 'You're a Christian, So What?' But I wrote our wedding thing and I sort of left God out of it," she adds. "My minister, who I loved, he helped me with it. We were very close, my minister [and I]. I just didn't believe in all of that stuff, but we were very close."
All these years later, Williams knows he got "lucky" in love.
"We never had a problem of working against each other because [of] different careers," the There I Go Again author says. "Whatever happened for the good, the other one was pleased about it. It was important that they were not envious of each other or anything stupid like that. We got along very well.
Bonnie also notes that the duo have "always been together" and have "always been here for each other."
"When one person needed help, the other one gave it," she says. "To this day, we help each other get through the days. We're very old."
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As they celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary on June 30, they said they planned to do so alongside their family.
"Our oldest son is a great cook, and so he'll probably [cook]. Or, we'll go out," she shares. "It doesn't matter, as long as it's family. My granddaughter's here, Grace is here. My son's new lady friend is here, so we'll have a good time with all of them, all [the] people that we love."
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