PRESTWICK, Scotland — In what is believed to be one of Britain’s longest marriages to end in divorce, 99-year-old Angus Campbell parted from his 96-year-old wife, Lillias, after discovering evidence of a brief affair she had during the Second World War.
The couple, married for an astonishing 77 years, had built a life together raising four children and enjoying their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Their separation was triggered not by a modern grievance, but by a secret that had been hidden for over six decades.
The revelation came unexpectedly as Mr. Campbell was moving a wardrobe in their home in Prestwick, South Ayrshire. Tucked away behind the furniture, he found a bundle of faded love letters, tied with a ribbon. The letters were from a man named "Bill," an American serviceman stationed at the local Prestwick airbase in the 1940s.
The correspondence detailed a romantic liaison between Lillias and the U.S. Army Air Force pilot while Angus was away during the war years. When confronted with the evidence, Mrs. Campbell admitted to the fleeting affair.
Despite the immense passage of time and their advanced age, Mr. Campbell was devastated. The betrayal, though decades old, shattered the foundation of trust their marriage was built upon. He made the difficult decision to file for divorce.
"The marriage had broken down irretrievably due to the wife's adultery," a source close to the case confirmed. The divorce was granted officially at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
Neighbors and friends expressed their shock, describing the Campbells as a lovely, devoted couple. The case sparked widespread discussion, raising profound questions about the nature of forgiveness, the long shadow cast by betrayal, and the secrets that can lie hidden in the quietest of homes.
For Angus Campbell, the wife he loved for a lifetime was, in the end, the keeper of a secret he felt he could not forgive. Their story serves as a poignant reminder that the heart, even at the age of 99, remembers the pain of a wound first inflicted in the 1940s
