Joe and Jill Biden: A Great Relationship That Was Almost Dead On Arrival 》

Regardless of your thoughts on Joe Biden’s politics, there is at least one thing everyone can admire about the President of the United States, and that’s his love for his wife. He and Jill Biden have been married for decades, and it’s clear from their cute public displays of affection that these two are still crazy about each other.

They are so head over heels in love that many people assume sparks flew as soon as they saw each other. The truth, however, is that this wasn’t love at first sight: in fact, it’s a miracle that Joe Biden got a second date, and getting her to say “yes” required he propose marriage to her on five separate occasions.

Don’t believe that this relationship had a rocky start? Keep reading to learn about how Joe and Jill Biden’s relationship was nearly dead on arrival!

That first date almost didn’t happen

If you’ve been in a committed relationship for a long time, you’ve probably memorized the first words the love of your life ever said to you. Joe Biden likely memorized what Jill first said to him when he called for a date, but we’re willing to bet the president wishes he could forget.

On Instagram, Jill got very blunt about her first words to her future husband. Joe was a widow, and his younger brother got him Jill’s number so he could ask her out. When Joe gave her a call, though, the first thing Jill said was “How did you get this number?” Joe Biden’s romantic prospects were off to a bad start, and things would get even worse once Jill laid eyes on him.

Jill was weirded out when she first saw Joe Biden

It seems like Jill Biden doesn’t mind dishing out the dirt when it comes to her and Joe Biden’s weird first date. Despite her aggressive response to his initial call, she agreed to go on a date. However, she later told Vogue how odd out she was by Joe once he showed up at her doorstep. In addition to being dressed very conservatively, Joe struck her as overly mature in almost every way: he was nearly a decade older than her, a widower with two kids, and a United States Senator.

That was a lot for the 24-year-old Jill to take in. As a result, the first thing she thought was that a relationship between them could never work out. “God, this is never going to work, not in a million years.'”

Obviously, Jill was proven wrong, and she and Joe Biden ended up in a lifelong relationship. But before she could accept Joe into her life at all, she had to make peace with the fact that the then-Senator had plenty of personal baggage.

A relationship with Joe Biden came with a lot of baggage

It’s worth noting that in addition to being so much younger than Joe Biden, Jill was also a senior in college when she met her future husband. He was already having to fret about things like the United States economy and national security; meanwhile, she was hoping to get good grades in her classes and earn the degree she had been working toward for years.

Jill never put her education on pause for her husband; in fact, she’d later go on to earn a doctorate. Before she earned the title “Dr. Biden,” though, Jill had to accept that marriage to Joe Biden would mean suddenly becoming a mother. At 26, she became a mother to two young children. It was a lot of baggage for someone as young as Jill to bring into her life; fortunately, her opinion of Joe dramatically improved by the end of the second date, and she started to see that the baggage would be worth it.

That first date changed her mind completely

We’ve covered how weirded out Jill was when she first spoke to Joe Biden and again when she first saw him. Fortunately, their first date managed to turn those weird first impressions around. By the time it was over, Jill knew she had met someone special.

She said as much in her interview with Vogue. After Joe took her out to see A Man and a Woman, he took her home and shook her hand rather than rushing into a goodbye kiss. A smitten Jill went upstairs and called her mother despite how late (1:00 AM) it was and told her the good news: “Mom, I finally met a gentleman.”

A rocky road to marriage

Obviously, Joe Biden was gentlemanly enough to not only turn that first date around but to win Jill’s heart. It’s no surprise, then, that these two lovebirds got married two years later. What might surprise you, though, is the oddly rocky road these two had towards marriage.

Jill may have said yes to Joe Biden’s proposal, but not right away. Instead, the future president had to propose to her on five different occasions. It’s a strange detail, but given how strong their current relationship is, Joe and Jill Biden’s unconventional early romance is proof that when you know you’ve met the right one, you need to fight–and keep fighting–for that relationship in order to keep it alive.