Cute Love Stories

The Notebook In Real Life

The Notebook famously tells of a woman who suffers from dementia and her husband who reads their story to her to remind her of her life. The movie is based on a fictional romance novel, but it didn't have to be. Jack and Phyllis Potter are the real life British version—in his early 90s, Jack Potter refuses to let the love of his life slip away into the solitude of dementia.

Jack started keeping a journal when he was a child, and he kept up the practice his entire life. When Jack met Phyllis on October 4, 1941, the pages of his diary captured their romance. Jack liked Phyllis from the moment he met her, describing in his diary, "Very nice evening. Danced with [a] very nice girl. Hope I meet her again." A mere 16 months after that first encounter, the two were married. They lived in Kent, England for over half a century. Eventually Phyllis's dementia took a deep hold on her life and it was too much for Jack to handle on his own. She had to move into a nursing home.

That didn't deter Jack. He visits her every day. And every day, he reads to her from his diaries. He reminds her of their family and pets with photographs. Through everything, Phyllis hasn't forgotten how much she loves Jack. She's always overjoyed when he arrives to see her. The two have now been married for 70 years.