News reports about long time married couples like Marshall and Winnie Kuykendall are popular, but many think these marriages are the exception.

A research study done by Stony Brook University and Harvey Mudd College say such relationships are not uncommon.

"... 40 percent of individuals married more than 10 years report feeling the same level of love for their partner as those newly in love."
Source: "Love in Marriage: Long-Term Love May Not Be Uncommon, Study Says." HuffingtonPost.com. 2/02/2012.

The article points out that affectionate behavior such as cuddling and sex "correlated with long-term intense love in marriage."

Don't forget! About.com is conducting its Readers' Choice Awards. We are now soliciting nominations from our readers in a variety of different categories. For the Marriage site, readers will be able to suggest and eventually vote on books, movies, apps, blogs, couples, and more.

Nominations will be accepted for just two more weeks until February 15th. So be sure to nominate who you feel deserves recognition!

Readers' Choice 2012 - Marriage

Five months after they met, Marshall proposed by writing a letter to Winnie. Thirty minutes later they eloped to Lordsburg, New Mexico on Valentine's Day, 1929. Three months after they eloped, when Marshall Kuykendall and recent high school graduate Winnie McNab announced their secret marriage, some predicted, "It'll never last." But it did.

The Kuykendalls were honored as the Longest Married Couple Project in 2011. They are now members of an Alumni Club that also includes the 50 state winners.

Wilbur & Theresa Faiss of Las Vegas, Nevada are the 2012 national winners of the Worldwide Marriage Encounter sponsored project. The Faiss' were married on April 14, 1933 and say it was "love at first sight."

Wilbur shared his secrets to a long-lasting happy marriage. "Every day ask her how she feels and 'Is there anything I can do for you?' And say, 'Honey, I still love you.'" Faiss also said "Compromise. Whether you are in a marriage or politics, that's the big secret."

2012 State Winners

Other Longest Married Couples:

Harold and Dorie Coupland

Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher

Percy and Florence Arrowsmith

Although reports of long-term married couples who naturally die within hours of one another are heart warming, they are also sad. It happened again in Kentucky last week.

Married for 73 years, Presley and Ethel Bradshaw died just four hours apart. The couple were married on October 21, 1938 in Somerset, Kentucky. Presley was 101 and Ethel was 99.

Related: Tips for a Long Lasting Marriage | Can You Die of a Broken Heart?