We all want a fairy tale-like romance between our partner, and some of us are lucky enough to fall in love with our best friend.
But no matter what bond you share with your other half, you're going to be devastated to lose them. You can't help but think that the rest of your life has to be spent without them - without the one person you spent most of your life with.
There are some couples who even death can't keep them apart. Two years ago, Leonard and Hazel Cherry, who were together for 74 years, naturally passed away only a few hours apart.
However, not every couple's life is going to end like The Notebook.
Charlie Emerick, 87, and his wife Francie, 88, from Portland, Oregan were married for 66 years. These two best friends met in 1947 at college, and got married less than five years later.
Both of them were diagnosed with cancer, but survived. However, as old age weakened their bodies, Francie suffered several heart attacks, and Charlie was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.
By two separate doctors, the parents-of-three were both considered terminally ill and had only six months to live.
While Francie could have lived longer, despite her weakened heart, she knew she couldn't after Charlie's passing...
Permission To Die
The couple chose to die with dignity by assisted suicide in their state of Oregan.
"She did not want to live without dad and dad did not want to live without her," their eldest daughter, Jerilyn, said.
Their permission was granted, since Oregan is among a handful of other U.S. states that has legalized medical aid-in-dying, known as the Death With Dignity Act.
The final days of the couple were made into a documentary called Living & Dying: A Loving Story, which was recorded April last year, and have finally been released to the public.
In their final moments, the documentary showed the couple smiling at each other, and holding hands as they swallowed their lethal medication.
Francie died 15 minutes after taking the life-ending pills, and Charlie died an hour later.
"They had control," Jerilyn said. "And I'm in favor of that."
