The Best Southern Love Stories of All Time

This Southern love story is a fairy tale fit for country music royalty. These two country singers seemed destined to be together—and not just because they could harmonize so well. Johnny and June met at the Grand Ole Opry in the 50s, fell in love on the road, and got engaged onstage in 1968. Their marriage lasted decades, until June passed away in May 2003 and Johnny followed three months later.

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Nicholas Sparks gave us two of our favorite Southern characters in The Notebook. Allie and Noah fall in love as teenagers then, after being separated for years, find lifelong love again in South Carolina. It is a story of lasting love that we’ll never tire of.

Faith and Tim are two of the most respected names in country music, and their love story is just as strong. Twenty years after saying “I do,” the two are still going strong, touring, and raising a family through the adventure of life in the spotlight.

Related: The Most Famous Southern Weddings of All Time

Margaret Mitchell wrote two of the most memorable characters in Southern literature, and their love story is one for the ages. Scarlett and Rhett have a rocky relationship riddled with hardships and tragedy, but their love story demands revisiting again and again—either on the page or through the characters brought to life by Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable. Swoon.

This love story took Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter all the way to the White House. These two married in 1946 in their hometown of Plains, Georgia. Seven decades later, they have proven their devotion to each other, their family, and their country.

This rock ‘n roll wedding celebrated ‘round the world was bedecked in Southern charm. Elvis was from Memphis, after all. Elvis and Priscilla met when they were kids and—after courting for eight years—married in 1967.

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We love these characters from Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain, but we also love them in film version, brought to life by Jude Law and Nicole Kidman. Their love story, set against the backdrop of the Civil War, sees Inman desert the fighting and travel back to meet his love, Ada, who is trying to keep the family farm going amidst the turmoil. The two prove star-crossed, but their love story still transcends many miles, battles, and hardships.