Couple that met during chance encounter on plane celebrates 40th wedding anniversary


If Vickie Moretz and Graham Kidner hadn't booked standby tickets for a 1982 World Airways flight from Washington, D.C., to London — and snagged the last seats on the plane — they wouldn't have spent the last 40 years married.
"When you think back, all the things that had to line up for us to meet is incredible," Kidner told CNN Travel. "One slight change of plans, we never would have met. It was meant to be."
Moretz and her friend Sandra were heading to England for a work study program, while Kidner was returning home after traveling through the U.S. They were thrilled to get the last three seats on the plane, all in one row, and became fast friends. Kidner took the Americans on a whirlwind tour of London, and before leaving to head north to his parents' house, he took a picture with Moretz, their arms around each other. They had an instant connection, and when Kidner visited London a few weeks later, "by the end of that evening, we were holding hands," Moretz said. "That was March 6. And then we were engaged July 4, and married Dec. 28."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
They live in the U.S., where they raised their two children, and for their 40th wedding anniversary in December, their neighbor snapped a picture of them recreating the photo from their first night in London. "It was amazing how we met, and how things turned out," Moretz told CNN Travel, adding, "and that we're still together, that's amazing too."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
July 6 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include paying for school lunch by enlisting, and the banality of evil
-
5 biting editorial cartoons about 'Alligator Alcatraz'
Cartoons Artists take on dangerous green things, historical precedent, and more
-
A journey into the deep past on beautiful Arran
The Week Recommends New Unesco Global Geopark played a 'key role' in the birth of modern geological science
-
Rustle up some fun at these Western hotels and dude ranches
The Week Recommends Six properties that are ready to rope you in
-
Feel the groove with these music-centric getaways across the globe
Let the rhythm move you
-
See the bright lights from these 7 big-city hotels
The Week Recommends Immerse yourself in culture, history and nightlife
-
6 captivating new US museum exhibitions to see this summer
The Week Recommends Get up close to Gustave Caillebotte and discover New Vision photography
-
America's favorite fast food restaurants
The Explainer There are different ways of thinking about how Americans define how they most like to spend their money on burgers, tacos and fried chicken
-
Beauty is a bed away at these 7 fashionable hotels
The Week Recommends Make these hotels in Macau, Italy and Washington, D.C., your personal runway
-
Your inner romper is going to wild out at these 7 adult summer camps
The Week Recommends You're never too old to go back to camp
-
Bring the great outdoors inside with these 8 sublime cabins deep in nature
The Week Recommends Enjoy nature without having to sleep in it