Ann and Mitt Romney Marriage Profile

The love story of Mitt and Ann Romney started when they were teens. Saying they have never had a serious argument in the long lasting traditional marriage, Mitt still refers to Ann as his sweetheart.

Here is information about how they met, their wedding, children, their thoughts on marriage, and more.

News Updates:

8/28/2012: Mitt Romney became the Republican nominee for president.

4/11/2011: Mitt Romney announced his candidacy for President of the U.S.

Willard Mitt Romney: March 12, 1947 in Detroit, Michigan.

Ann Lois Davies: April 16, 1949. Ann was raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Mitt and Ann met in elementary school when he was a Cub Scout. She was riding a horse and he threw stones at her.

Their first date on March 21, 1965 was at the movies to see The Sound of Music.

Mitt: "I'd seen the girl in elementary school, but she was in the second grade, I was in the fourth grade. So, I didn't pay a lot of attention at that point. But when she turned almost 16, I thought she was pretty interesting."
Source: Steve Holland. "Ann Romney adds personal touch to Mitt's campaign." Reuters.com. 3/02/2012.

Neil Swidey: "They had first gotten to know each other at a mutual friend's birthday party in the late winter of 1965, when he spotted the wholesome beauty with light brown hair from across the room. Mitt had just turned 18, Ann was 15 -- almost exactly the same ages his parents had been when they met."
Source: Neil Swidey and Michael Paulson, Globe Staff. "Privilege, tragedy, and a young leader." Boston.com. 06/24/2007.

Ann: "I caught his eye," she recalls with pleasure, "and he never let me go. I mean, he hotly pursued me, and we dated through high school. Did we date others? No, it was total romance. It was just one of those things that he -- that we really fell, actually, deeply in love in high school, although we didn't tell anyone, because no one would have believed it."
Source: Jack Thomas, Globe Staff. "Ann Romney's Sweetheart Deal." The Boston Globe. 10/20/1994.

In June 1965 Mitt asked Ann to marry him when she was 16 years old. They had only dated for a few months.

Mitt: "I didn't want to be anywhere else but with Ann. I wanted to be with her all the time and couldn't imagine being anywhere else besides being with her. And so, at the senior prom, as we danced a little bit, we went outside of the school and I turned to her and said, 'Ann, would you marry me?' And she said, 'Yes.'"
Source: Mitt Romney. "Mitt Talks About Ann." MittRomney.com. From a 11/2006 speech. (link via Archive.org)

Ronald Scott: "George and Lenore and a family entourage, including Ann, were waiting when Mitt disembarked at the old Detroit City Airport. With mom alongside dad at the wheel and more family in the rear seat, Mitt and Ann crammed themselves and his luggage into the very back, which is where, on the short ride home from the airport to Bloomfield Hills, Mitt proposed marriage again, as he had a month after they met. Ann accepted instantaneously again."
Source: Ronald B. Scott. Mitt Romney: An Inside Look at the Man and His Politics. 2011. pg. 25.

Mitt and Ann were married on March 21, 1969 when Mitt was 22 and Ann was 19. The first part of their wedding took place in Ann's parents' home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan in a civil ceremony officiated by church Elder Edwin Jones. They had around 250 guests including President Ford and received congratulations in a wire from President Nixon. Ann wore a full length white wedding dress with a long train.

The next morning Mitt and Ann flew to Salt Lake City and were "sealed" for eternity in the Mormon Temple.

Ann and Mitt honeymooned in Hawaii.

Mitt and Ann raised five sons.

• Taggart Romney: Born in 1970. Tagg works in marketing and is married to Jennifer.
• Matthew Romney: Born in 1971. Matt works in real estate and is married to Laurie.
• Joshua Romney: Born in 1975. Josh is a real estate developer and is married to Jen.
• Benjamin Romney: Born in 1978. Ben is a medical student and is married to Andelynne.
• Miscarriage: According to Allen G. Breed, Ann and Mitt lost a baby boy "several months into her pregnancy." However, CNN reported "the couple suffered a miscarriage" around 1991.
• Craig Romney: Born in 1981. Craig is an advertising music producer and is married to Mary.

The Romney Sons: A Guide

Mitt: Presidential candidate for 2012 and 2008 elections, former governor of Massachusetts, businessman. In 1998 he took over management of the Salt Lake Winter Olympics.

Ann: Volunteer instructor, director of Best Friends, stay-at-home mom, and partner in The Acres in Moorpark, California and in Rob Rom Enterprises, LLC. Anne also serves on the boards of several organizations.

Ann and Mitt lived in Belmont, Massachusetts for over thirty years. Although that home was sold in 2009, as of August 2011, the Romneys still own several homes.

• Beachfront home in La Jolla, California. They want to enlarge the existing $12 million 3,009-square-foot Spanish-style home by bulldozing it and replacing it with a 11,062-square-foot mansion.
• Townhouse in Belmont, Massachusetts. This is their main residence.
• Vacation home valued at $10 million on Lake Winnipesaukee's shore in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.

Ann Romney: "I read somewhere that Mitt and I have a ‘storybook marriage.’ Well, in the storybooks I read, there were never long, long, rainy winter afternoons in a house with five boys screaming at once. And those storybooks never seemed to have chapters called MS or breast cancer. A storybook marriage? No, not at all. What Mitt Romney and I have is a real marriage.”
Source: Robin Abcarian. "Ann Romney's speech will evoke her heart and family ties." LATimes.com. 8/28/2012.

Rob Gray: "She's the catalyst to all these forays into all these life-changing things," said the '94 campaign adviser. "Whether it was the olympics, or the presidential run, it's been Ann saying, 'Let's do it.' She is his number one sounding board, and he's always looked up to her amazingly."
Source: McKay Coppins. "How Ann Romney Learned To Love The Spotlight." BuzzFeed.com. 4/23/2012.

Ann in an anniversary video: "I think Mitt now will say that I dug it in really, really deep, and he’s never been able to escape the grasp that I got ahold of him."
Source: Video: A Love Letter to Mitt. Mittromney.com. 3/21/2012.

Andrew Sabl: "Ann was widely mocked for this at the time. I don’t dissent from the mockery. Her idea of her and Mitt facing “not easy years,” having “no income,” “living on the edge” as “struggling students,” was that the couple had had to face college with only sale of stock to sustain them. By Ann’s own account, the stock amounted to “a few thousand” dollars when bought, but it had gone up by a factor of sixteen. So let’s conservatively say that they got through five years as students—neither one of them working—only by “chipping away at” assets of $60,000 in 1969 dollars (about $377,000 today)."
Source: "Mitt Romney and Ann: the students 'struggling' so much that they had to sell stock." SameFacts.com. 1/24/2012.

Mitt about Ann: "And Ann is an angel. She's a hot angel, but she's an angel nonetheless. It's a privilege, it's a joy, it's my entire life to have Ann in my life. My sweetheart."
Source: Mitt Romney. "Mitt Talks About Ann." MittRomney.com. From a 11/2006 speech. (link via Archive.org)

Ann about dealing with her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis: "I had to dig deep with the help of my husband who really pulled me through and gave me courage to go on."
Source: Sunlen Miller. "Ann Romney: You Gotta Have Faith." ABCNews.com. 06/15/2007.

Mitt about Ann: "She's also my best counselor. There is no issue that is important to me, political or personal, in terms of personnel type issues, that I don't ask Ann's advice."
Source: Larry King Interview. 03/15/2007.

Mitt about his marriage and his faith: "Look, I'm not perfect. But I have a better marriage because of my faith."
Source: Larry King Interview. 03/15/2007.

Mitt about Ann's health: "There is no question. I would not have gotten into this race if Ann's health were in a deteriorated state and relationship -- my relationship with her is the most important thing in my life. And we have done this together. And we gave it a lot of thought."
Source: Larry King Interview. 03/15/2007.

Mitt about marriage: "I oppose gay marriage and civil union, if it's equivalent to gay marriage. And the reason for that is not because I -- I don't want to show respect and tolerance for other people, but because marriage is primarily about the development and nurturing of children. And children deserve a mom and a dad. So I -- I support traditional marriage ... I want to find ways to build stronger families. That means, by the way, more families that have moms and dads bringing kids into the world, less teenage pregnancy. We need to encourage marriage before kids."
Source: Larry King Interview. 03/15/2007.

Mitt: "For the past thirty years, at the end of every day, I had unloaded all my worries and concerns on Ann, and she had done the same to me. We'd give each other advice and perspective ... Ann is my most trusted advisor.
Source: Mitt Romney, Timothy Robinson. Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games. 2007. pg. 51.

Ann about having an argument with Mitt: "You know, I hate to answer this, but no. Isn't that awful? It's like we must not have a relationship if we don't argue, but we never have, never a serious argument, and we've known each other since I was 15 years old. We did have one argument, but it was before marriage, when I thought he was being too possessive, when I wasn't really understanding that he was just so in love with me and so committed. I was 17, and we had a real argument. But that was the last one. Isn't that strange? It's like people might think there's something wrong with our relationship ... Mitt has never once raised his voice to me."
Source: Jack Thomas. "Ann Romney's Sweetheart Deal." Boston Globe. 10/20/1994.
More From the 1994 Article: "Vintage Ann Romney: 'Daughter of Privilege' Who 'Knows Little of Real World.'" Gothamist.com. 4/14/2012.