It was back in 1967 when Kevin Carroll and Debbie Weber first saw each other.
They were both teenagers and members of the drama clubs at their high schools.
It was love at first sight.
"I went to an all-boys school and Debbie went to an all-girls school," Kevin told the BBC show. Outlook.
"At the audition, while we were all sitting in the hall, I said to another one, 'Look at that girl? I'm taking her to the school dance.'"
And Debbie remembers that day.
"I was sitting alone in the hall because I didn't know any of the girls from other schools who had come to audition, but when I saw him, I thought he was the cutest boy I'd ever seen in my life."
Not only did they go to the dance together, but from that moment on they couldn't bear to be apart.
They even planned to flee to the US state of Maryland, where it would be easier for them to get married.
But everything has changed.
The news that Debbie was pregnant shattered their dreams and separated them for more than 40 years.
Today, when they are together again, they say they especially appreciate the love they were unable to experience in their youth.
But their journey to reunion was like a Hollywood movie.
Unexpected news
When Debbie told her parents she was pregnant, they were very supportive, as much as the social values and norms of the time allowed.
"They were full of love; they loved Kevin, they knew he was a great guy and that we loved each other," Debbie told the BBC.
"But at that time, things were much different for girls who got pregnant."
It was agreed that she would go to a home for single mothers.
"My mom would let Kevin visit me on the weekends, so we'd go for car rides and have dinner together," says Debbie.
At that time, they both hoped that at some point they would be able to get married and raise the baby together that was about to be born.
Kevin was so confident in his plan that he persuaded his mother to enroll him in the United States Marine Corps at the age of 17.
"I found out that if I enlisted, even if we weren't married, I could send money to Debbie, and the Marines would provide health services for her and the baby," he says.
"I was hoping we could get married when my military training was over."
But all that remains is hope.
During training, he received a letter from Debbie, informing him that she would be giving the baby up for adoption.
"I remember that feeling," Kevin barely managed to say.
"I was in training with a few Marines, where you're not allowed to show any emotion, but inside my whole world collapsed."
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Twists of fate
After breaking up with Kevin, who was about to be sent to Vietnam, Debbie was haunted by her conscience because she would have to abandon her baby.
When the doctor told her he knew a family who was interested in adoption, she felt a little better.
"I know a family with four children and the mother can no longer give birth."
"If you give birth to a girl, they would like to adopt her," he told her.
Debbie gave birth to a baby girl who, according to her, looked like Kevin, and handed her over to a new family, not knowing much about them.
Shortly after giving the baby up for adoption, Deb's family moved away and started a new life.
Meanwhile, Kevin is sent to Vietnam.
"My job was to recover pilots shot down in combat, and on October 10, 1969, we went to rescue a supply helicopter."
During that operation, Kevin was wounded in the arms, legs, and back.
"I thought I wouldn't get out of there alive, and I turned to God," he told the BBC.
"I told him, 'I can't believe you're going to let me die here, in the middle of nowhere, 18.000 miles from home, without ever seeing Debbie again, and without ever seeing my baby.'"
A Marine came to his aid, and Kevin was evacuated to the Philippines, then to Japan, and then back to the US to recover.
"I had 18 surgeries during that period, and 20 more since then."
"But I went from a wheelchair to a walker, from a walker to crutches, from crutches to a cane, and I never thought about that event."
Despite all his health problems, Kevin tried to find Debbie Weber.
But Debbie, consumed by guilt, tried to forget everything.
She married several times and had three daughters, and Kevin remained a widower in the meantime.
Neither Debbie nor Kevin had any news about their daughter, who had been adopted by another family long ago.
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Meeting after 40 years
Debbie eventually decided to tell her daughters the truth.
"It was Mother's Day," she recalls.
"We were in the kitchen and I said, 'I have to tell you something. When I was very young, I had a baby.'
"I explained the whole situation to them - how Kevin and I fell in love."
One of the daughters asked for additional details to help find Val.
"I knew the last name, I knew the family had four boys, and I knew the neighborhood where they lived."
That was enough information.
Deb's daughter found the family and got in touch with one of the brothers.
A phone call soon followed - from her daughter Val.
"I called her at eight in the morning," Val told the BBC.
"I said we had a lot to talk about, but I appreciated what she did."
"I wasn't angry."
Such a reaction calmed Debi's soul.
"All those feelings of shame and guilt just disappeared," she said.
They met that same evening.
During the conversation, the question arose: what about Vala's biological father?
An internet search found an obituary for his late wife.
Then Debi wrote him a letter.
"I'm sorry for your recent loss."
"I'd like to talk about our school days."
"I hope you're well," she wrote, adding her phone number.
For Kevin, that letter was a true miracle.
"I will never forget the moment I received the letter.
"I called her right away and said I couldn't believe we were actually talking."
And then came the surprise.
"I said, 'I have to tell you something,'" says Debbie.
"'I found our daughter. Do you want to meet her?'"
After he firmly said "yes," the meeting was arranged at Deb's house.
When Kevin arrived, Val laughed at her mother's reaction: "Mom said, 'Wow, he's so handsome!'"
Val and her father talked for hours.
Kevin then admitted to her that he never stopped loving her mother.
More than 40 years after their failed plan to run away together, they managed to get married.
Today, when they are around seventy years old, they can finally devote themselves completely to each other.
"We can care for each other and love each other even at this stage of life."
"Honestly, I don't need anything else," Debbie Weber concluded.
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