10 Years After Interracial Marriage Became Legal, This Couple’s Love Story Is Captivating the Internet
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Mike and Jeri Wirtz
In the changing tides of TikTok, where everything is here and gone in a moment, among the new things that have caught hearts is Mike and Jeralyn Wirtz’s timeless love story. Something as simple as trying to keep in touch with kids and grandkids during the pandemic has turned into a trend as this couple lets viewers in on the bits of their life through pictures and videos on the site.
Their TikTok account captures a myriad of memories: glossy, slick shots of them just starting out as a couple in the 1970s, snapshots of all their adventures and milestones throughout the decades of raising their children. These nostalgic visuals are often set to classic tunes from artists like Otis Redding and Mary Wells, creating a warm, poignant atmosphere that really draws you in. On TikTok, the Wirtzes have carved out for themselves a small, yet meaningful, niche where they invite their users to take part in their love and learn what it takes to nurture a healthy, long-lasting relationship.
This couple tries to be open and warm, building up an incredibly active community of followers who are not afraid to ask questions, with one being asked and receiving enormous attention: “Was it legal when y’all got married?” The only question herein is one that racked up over 900 reactions—again, signaling interest to find out how their interracial relationship has impacted their lives.
Speaking with TODAY.com, the Wirtzes recalled their first meeting by the pool at their apartment complex in 1976. Mike Wirtz said he thought Jeralyn was somebody he could be interested in. Jeralyn just thought he was so cute and mature. For either of them, at that point, race simply wasn’t a factor as they got to know each other.
It was a time in history—exactly eight years after the historic Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court ruling that struck down laws banning interracial marriage in all of the United States. Although California had allowed interracial marriage in 1948, the Wirtzes were well-aware of the hard time that any such marriage would face. However, both had natural and deep-rooted friendships with people from other races and hence became more lenient in their attitudes toward one another.
“I guess I was kind of naïve about it, but I didn’t really register anything,” Mike reflects. “There was this young lady that I really cared much for, and she was real cute, so we began dating. I know it was an interracial thing, but it didn’t become like a major thing. My parents really accepted her, and her family accepted me.”
“We knew there was prejudice out there and people would look at us, but we didn’t focus on that. There were more exciting things to focus on,” said Jeralyn.
Mike and Jeralyn, who exchanged their wedding vows in 1977, had met a year before it. It was within a mere year of their meeting that they had two children, Nicole and Ryan. They have certainly lived much more than what they had promised in their wedding vows, including successful careers and standpoints in life, along with ills. In 2017, Jeralyn was diagnosed with breast cancer, while in 2020, Mike was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
“I give her all the credit in the world,” says her husband, Mike. “She’s gone through so much, and it’s not easy. But she’s incredibly determined.”
Jeralyn posted most recently on Instagram in January about her journey with stage four breast cancer, saying she’s “fought through chemo and radiation and refuses to give up.”
Now retired, the Wirtzes are spending more time with their three grandkids—whom they call their pride and joy. They’re also still trying to come to terms with their accidental TikTok stardom.
“I’m not like Jeri. I don’t embrace it as much,” confesses Mike, who describes himself as an introvert. “We’re doing something we enjoy, and I don’t watch our stuff thinking others would really find them interesting.”
Jeralyn, however, is enjoying all of this. “I love it. I think it’s fun,” she says. “I get to tease my younger friends who are trying to become influencers and don’t have many followers. I’m 72 years old, and I’m a ‘YouTuber’ an ‘influencer.’ It’s fun or funny to us.”
Article was first published on today.com
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