Sharron and Julian Hadley were the first and last love of each other.
In the 1950s, they met as students at Fort Lauderdale High School. They dated during their junior and senior years, but they went their own ways after graduation. Sharron attended Florida State University while Julian enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.
Residents of the Village of Sunset Pointe stayed in touch over the years, even after they married other people. At previous reunions, they had met each other’s spouses. Sharron’s first husband, Nick Navarro, died unexpectedly in 2011, and Julian’s first wife, Linda, passed away in 2010.
After learning about Sharron’s husband’s death, Julian invited her to a class reunion in 2012.
“The old spark came back,” Julian said.
And the glimmer lingered on. The couple has been married for seven years. They’re having fun as a married couple in The Villages, reminiscing about their past.
They have a framed portrait of the two of them during their senior prom in their home. A photograph of the two of them together at their first black-tie event after reuniting is shown next to it.
After meeting at a party the summer before their junior year, Sharron and Julian began dating.
“He was supposed to put in a good word for another guy,” Sharron said.
“I put in a good word for me instead of him,” Julian added, laughing.
They started dating after that.
Julian was a football player in high school, while Sharron was the senior homecoming queen.
They continued with their lives apart after graduation.
Their first date after decades apart was a little unpleasant at first, but after that, things became much easier for both of them. They were living in different places when they began dating – Sharron in Fort Lauderdale and Julian in Orlando – but they would meet up where they lived or midway.
After dating for almost a year and a half, the two decided to marry and elope.
“We didn’t tell anybody,” Sharron said. “I didn’t even tell my sister.”
On April 18, 2014, the two were married in a church in Las Vegas.
“We just thought, ‘We’re not getting any younger,’ and we enjoy being with each other again,” Sharron said. “We both loved each other again.”
The couple’s marriage has been going nicely.
“We’re just excited, really,” Sharron said.
They like spending time together in The Villages, visiting the squares, taking classes at the Enrichment Academy and so on.
After more than five decades, they still find it strange that they have ended up together.
Sharron explained that it has brought them back to high school.
“We still can’t stop shaking our heads that we’re back together and totally happy and have a wonderful life,” she said.