Gerald on the definition of a successful marriage: "A successful marriage cannot thrive on simply a mutuality of interests, important as that ingredient is over the years for compatibility. There must be understanding, compassion and emotion which fits under the umbrella of love. A marriage that has these attributes can weather the storm clouds that are inevitable in an intimate relationship ... There must be a belief on the part of both that there is nothing of a higher priority than the sanctity and continuation of the relationship."
Source: America's First Families: An Inside View of the 200 Years of Private life in the White House, page 81.
Betty on the secret of their successful marriage: "You go into it, both of you, as a seventy-thirty proposition. In other words, here I'm giving seventy, he can give thirty, he's giving seventy, I give thirty. When you're going overboard trying to pelase each other, you can't help but be happy."
Source: Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped Our History, page 208.
Betty about being a political wife: "I was very unprepared to be a political wife but I didn't worry because I really didn't think he was going to win."
Source: Senate.gov
Gerald, 1976: "I am indebted to no man and only one woman, my dear wife, Betty, as I begin this very difficult job."
Source: Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped Our History, page 201.
John Robert Greene: "Their first date was, as Ford remembers it, at 'an out of the way bar.' There was an immediate attraction; as Ford cooly put it, 'my interest [was] piqued.'"
Source: Betty Ford: Candor and Courage in the White House, page 17.
Betty on their marriage in the mid 1960s: "I think we were all so really tied up in his career that we weren't looking at each other the way we should look at each other."
Source: Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped Our History, page 204.
Betty, September 1976: "We've been married 28 years now and I can always sense his attitude and whether he's had a good day or bad. I certainly don't bring up any problems ... I think it is a sensitivity thing between two people who have lived together for a certain period of time. He wouldn't ring up anything to distress me either."
Source: The Presidents: Their Lives, Families and Great Decisions, page 152.
Betty on fidelity in marriage, 1976: "My husband and I have lived twenty-eight years of faithfulness in marriage. I do not believe in premarital relations. But I realize many in today's generation do not share my views."
Source: The Presidents: Their Lives, Families and Great Decisions, page 154.
Betty on infidelity: "He doesn't have time for outside entertainment. I keep him busy."
Source: Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped Our History, page 208.
Betty's response when asked how often she and President Ford would sleep together, August 1974: "As often as possible."
Source: America's First Families: An Inside View of the 200 Years of Private life in the White House, page 51.
David Kennerly, official White House photographer: "They were a playful couple. They joked around with each other. His idea at the end of the day was to sit around with her, have dinner with her, just be with her."
Source: Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped Our History, page 206.
Betty on Gerald becoming President: "... the saddest day of my life ... the day my husband took the oath of office as President of the United States."
Source: Behind Every Successful President: The Hidden Power & Influence of America's First Ladies, page 88.
Kati Marton, author: "The Ford marriage was a real partnership: he made no major decisions without first talking to his wife."
Source: Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped Our History, page 200.
