Nova Scotia couple share secrets to 78-year marriage

If you're looking for marriage advice, it never hurts to look to the success stories.

On their 78th anniversary, a Liverpool, Nova Scotia, couple is sharing the secrets to their long and happy marriage.

Bill and Bertie Nickerson tied the knot on December 2, 1935, making them one of Canada's longest-married couples. They raised two sons, and still live in the house Bill built in 1950.

"Not too many people after 77 years are that much in love but he just truly loves her. I can't explain it, it's in his eyes," the Nickerson's friend Bonnie Flemming said last year. "I hope they have many more anniversaries, I truly do."

Also see: Pancakes for successful marriage?

Their only longevity secrets: they love each other, choose to agree — and still enjoy each other's company after all these years.

"It's just that she's she. I love her," Bill, 99, tells CBC News. "I wouldn't trade a minute with anybody else."

Bertie, 96, insists she didn't leave her husband any other option.

"I wasn't going to live here alone," Bertie says, nudging her husband playfully. "You've got to stay around. You remember that, boy. Don't you go and leave me."

Also see: Secrets you should never keep in a relationship

Other long-marriage secrets and tips we've heard in recent months from couples married for decades include daily pancakes, plenty of laughter and fresh vegetables, and living within your means.

Yukon couple Alice and Arthur John, who have also been married since 1935, profess to having no real secrets, just a practical approach to staying together:

"You just do it," Alice says.