In a year filled with high-profile celebrity breakups — including Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s split after 19 years of marriage and Marion Cotillard and Guillaume Canet’s separation after nearly two decades together — a few long-term love stories in Israel are quietly defying the global trend.
While celebrity headlines highlight how difficult it can be to keep relationships intact, Israel is seeing a similar reality. Divorce rates have risen sharply in recent years, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics, and many couples who remain together report emotional strain or dissatisfaction. Yet amid the changing landscape, some Israelis have managed to hold on — to the same person they fell in love with as teenagers.
Gili Mizrahi, 53, a teacher and emotional coach for children from Hod Hasharon, met her husband Moshe when she was 14 and he was 16.
“We met in the summer of 1987 through a friend,” she said. “It was just before Yom Kippur. We went for a walk down Ahuza Street in Ra’anana, talked all night and the next day. A few days later he showed up at my house smiling from ear to ear. That was the start of everything.”
The two married 10 years later and have been together for 38 years. Mizrahi recalls difficult periods, especially during Moshe’s army service when they sometimes went a month without speaking. “After that, we even broke up for a short time, but we got back together,” she said.
Later, when they moved to Eilat for work, the couple faced financial struggles and time apart. “What kept us strong was friendship, patience, and allowing each other room to grow,” Mizrahi said.
Today, she says people often express amazement when they learn she has been with the same partner since her teens. “They ask if I feel like I missed out,” she said. “But I tell them this is what I know — it’s always been full of love and respect. People say it’s inspiring.”
Tali Erez, 50, from Kiryat Ono, met her husband Shahar when she was 13. Today, she serves as CEO of Elem, an organization that supports at-risk youth, while he is a tech entrepreneur in artificial intelligence.
“We started dating on the last day of ninth grade in 1990,” she said. “We went to the beach holding hands, and we still celebrate that date every year.”
The couple faced years of fertility treatments and later moved to California for Shahar’s work, where their third child was born. At 37, Erez was diagnosed with liver cancer. “He was with me through every treatment and surgery,” she said. “It reminded us what really matters.”
Erez believes the key to lasting marriage is mutual respect and emotional presence. “Everyone wants to be seen and valued,” she said. “It’s important to stay attentive to each other’s needs and to make time for the relationship, even when life is demanding.”
Asked whether she feels she missed out by marrying her first boyfriend, Erez laughs. “I’m not naïve — sometimes curiosity comes up, but day to day it doesn’t matter. To me, he’s still the most handsome man in the room. Our connection is deeper than looks.”
Dvorit Nevo, 59, an organizational consultant from Haifa, met her husband Ze’ev when she was 14.
“We met during the summer between eighth and ninth grade, in 1980,” she said. “He was my friend’s neighbor. I noticed him riding his bike and doing tricks. We started talking, dated through high school, and married at 23.”
Nevo said their biggest challenges were financial and personal growth. “We built everything on our own,” she said. “We’re very different — I like change, he’s more steady. But we balance each other. We talk openly about everything and make decisions together.”
Reactions from others, she said, range from admiration to disbelief. “Some people think it’s strange. But it’s proof that with communication, patience, and willingness to work through problems, marriage can last,” she said.
As for intimacy after decades together, Nevo says the foundation is no longer only passion. “Over time, it’s about love and friendship,” she said. “We make sure to take vacations, go on nature trips, and spend time together. That’s what keeps the connection alive.”
In a country where more than one-third of marriages now end in divorce, these stories stand out. Whether through shared growth, resilience, or mutual respect, these women say that staying together for decades is neither luck nor routine — it’s daily work, shaped by forgiveness, humor, and love.