And they said it wouldn't last!

Dick and Betty Broussard have been married for 54 years, and haven't regretted a moment. So says the Dallas Morning News today.

By most predictions, Betty Sweitzer and Dick Broussard's relationship would never last.

She is gregarious and he is reserved. She's an only child and he's the oldest of eight. "I'm very German and he's French. I'm from a city and he's from a little bitty town. I went to college; Dick didn't." She was Protestant and he was Catholic.

And yet here they sit, 54 years later – married through thick and thin – with three children, six grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and another on the way.

Back in Baltimore in 1954, his priest said it would be a mistake. He told Dick, "You come down to the social next week and I'll introduce you to a nice Catholic girl."

Her minister said, "Betty, do not marry him. It won't last."

Betty says, "I came out of there crying and said, 'Let's get married by a rabbi.' "

It's very interesting how interfaith marriage has become the norm in today's day and age. Religion seems not to be such a stumbling block for the young and apparently, these folks led the way in this regard as pioneers long ago. Read more about this couple at the jump here but also take to heart that their lives have been far from easy. They've known and lives what I think I learned in marriage prep and has been at the forefront of my own marriage:

Marriage is not about happiness. Marriage is about commitment and that commitment sometimes leads to happiness.

But it always leads to knowing that someone else is always there for you...and that is always more than enough for me.

And apparently that is also true for the Broussard's:

"It takes love and commitment to keep a marriage together this long," Betty says.

Dick sums it up with one word: "tolerance."