Florida couple finds lasting second love at ages 84 and 70

He loves karaoke, although confesses he can’t sing. She loves reciting poetry and always knew she would find love again. They met last year, while volunteering at CareMax center in Kissimmee during the center’s birthday celebrations.

Rosa María Meléndez, 70, and Aníbal González, 84, each married early in life, and had children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren before both were widowed.

When the Kissimmee couple met in 2021, it was a friendship at first. Soon, their connection blossomed into a romance.

Although she was grieving, Meléndez was determined to find a humble man from Puerto Rico with whom she could share the “best years I have left in my life.”

“While I was single, I always said I would find my jibarito,” Meléndez said.

A resident of Central Florida since 1992, she lost her first husband six years ago. She began volunteering with CareMax and Meals on Wheels, and also driving people to appointments and just spending time listening to them, to stay busy and help others.

“Sometimes people forget that we can get lonely. Having someone doing nice things for you is something that makes the difference between happiness and depression,” said Meléndez, who retired from Disney after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

González, who lost his first wife a year ago, goes to CareMax for all his medical needs but doesn’t usually attend events like the center’s birthday celebration.

“So, the fact that we both ended there and that we caught each other’s attention, I think it was destiny,” he said.

Meléndez recited a poem that day which “captivated” González, he said. As soon as she finished, “I jumped out of my seat to find her and congratulate her on her beautiful words and her special talent,” he said.

“From that day on, I started calling her ‘my favorite poet’ and looked forward to seeing her more often,” he said.

They began meeting for coffee, conversation, and attending CareMax events more often. When she invited him to another music and poetry event, “he said he was going to dedicate a song to me,” Meléndez recalls.

“He said, ‘I have these five songs. I want you to choose one and I’m going to sing it to you,’ and on the day of the event, he sang me the song that I chose, ‘La Barca’. And from that day on, every song that comes out of his mouth is for me,” she said.

For González, the moment he knew this was something more was when “she was reciting one of her poems and at the end it says ‘You, my friend’ and she pointed at me as if she was dedicating it to me, from all the people there.”

Meléndez admitted that had been her intention.

“I wrote that poem for a couple of friends of mine.

But I decided to recite it and I knew I wanted him to know it was for him. And it worked, I got him. Now I have my jibarito.”

Their connection took him by surprise, especially since he was convinced he was going to die alone, he said.

“The last thing I thought was I was going to find love again and get married at 84,” he said. “I am confident God sent me a partner to live happily ever after the rest of our lives.”

They married last week surrounded by family and loved ones, to the relief of González, because “in the beginning my son and daughter were not very onboard with the situation.”

“They were concerned I was moving too fast and that I was forgetting their mom,” his wife of 61 years, he said, but they eventually accepted his happiness.

Meléndez’s advice for singles who want to find love: “Take advantage of every opportunity to meet new people, start with a friendship and you never know where things might go.”

González says it’s normal to mourn loss.

“But you should start looking for ways to fill the void with things and people you enjoy in life,” he said.

COURTESY Rosa María Meléndez and Aníbal González were married Feb. 4th and said they are blessed to have a second chance at love.