Couple of 44 years reveal secret to strong relationship

Jill and Gary Umpleby have been married for 44 years

The secret to a strong relationship is "communication", a couple from Somerset has said.

Jill and Gary Umpleby have been married for 44 years and volunteer at Fleet Air Arm Museum near Yeovil.

Gary, 65, and a former serviceman in the Royal Navy, met Jill on a blind date, and said it was "love at first sight".

Jill, 69, added that "honesty" and communication is the key to their long relationship.

"It's just understanding each other, respecting each other and being loyal to each other," Gary said.

The pair work alongside the Concorde exhibit

Jill told BBC Radio Somerset she was invited to a ball at the Naval College in Plymouth - despite her knowing nothing about the armed forces - and which is where she met her future husband.

"Poor Gary met me off the coach looking like nothing on earth, because I don't travel well, so good on him for carrying on," she said.

Gary joked that it all started when he said "get in the car, woman", and believes those words, and his uniform, were "sufficient to keep things going".

Gary and Jill got married in 1980

More than four decades later the pair now volunteer at the Naval museum at RNAS Yeovilton, under the watchful eye of their daughter Zoe, the venue's volunteering coordinator.

"I think we make a good team," Gary said of working together.

Zoe said she "loves" working with her parents, especially as they "do as I say for once".

She added: "It's lovely to see them in this sort of environment... I'm incredibly proud of them."

Despite spending long periods apart over the years, due to Gary's work in the Navy, Jill said that they just "slot back in" when they are together.

She added that she believes spending periods of time away from each other was also one of the ways they felt stronger as a couple.