About LoveLived
LoveLived is a series of videos telling the stories of a group of elderly London residents experiences with romantic love. The project was produced in collaboration with photographer Holly Wren and the charity Contact the Elderly. The videos and photographs produced from the project were featured both online and exhibited at Broadgate Tower. You can more learn about the LoveLived project here. Mailis was married twice and found her experience to be very different each time. Watch the video above or read the description below to learn Maili’s story.
Mailis’s Story
Mailis moved to London in her 20s
from Finland in order to learn English and work as a nurse for a year. However, her stay in London was extended when she met her first husband, Ronald, who, despite Mailis’ limited English, would write her countless love letters. Ronald asked Mailis to marry her in 1952, and she agreed because she knew he would be able to provide her with a good life in England. Although Mailis has some fond memories of their marriage, particularly of their beautiful wedding and their children, those memories are tainted by Ronald’s extreme bouts of jealousy. Once their children had grown up and moved out, Mailis ended her marriage with Ronald, but the two remained friends until his death in 2014.
Later on in her life, Mailis met her second husband and her true love, Grahame. At the time of their first meeting, Mailis was 55 and Grahame was 15 years her senior, but despite the age difference, the two got on well and quickly fell in love. However, given her past experience with marriage, Mailis was hesitant to accept Grahame’s proposal. Grahame, on the other hand, knew that their love was meant to be and continued to ask for her hand in marriage until Mailis accepted.
Mailis describes her marriages as so different that, to her, 
they felt like night and day. She and Grahame spent 20 happy years together, doing almost everything as a pair. Although she was very much in love with Grahame, their love went unspoken as they never said, “I love you,” until Grahame was about to pass away. Mailis’ last words to the love of her life were, “I love you. Please don’t go.”