Happy 71st wedding anniversary Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter!

Jimmy Carter married his hometown sweetheart, Rosalynn Smith, on July 7 1946. They celebrate 71 years together.

Forget his Nobel Peace Prize, her groundbreaking work in the area of mental health, and, oh yeah, the four years they spent as President and First Lady of the United States.

It all pales beside Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s marital track record, which has just hit a whopping 71 years.

It was July 7, 1946 when the couple married at Plains Methodist Church, where Rosalynn's family worshipped. She'd turned him down the first time he proposed, a fact the former president who's now 92, enjoyed teasing his 89-year-old bride about during an interview with the AJC as their 70th anniversary approached.

In that same interview, Carter noted how impressed others were by their many years of wedded bliss: “That’s the surest applause that we get,” he chuckled.

1946: Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter pose on their wedding day. The couple, who had both attended Plains High School, met through a mutual friend when Jimmy Carter was serving in the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. (Jimmy Carter Presidential Library)

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Indeed, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta tweeted that it was getting in on the celebration by lowering its admission price to 71 cents on Friday, July 7 only.

Meanwhile, the still happy couple has a busy week ahead, as they spearhead Habitat for Humanity's 34th Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project July 9 - 14 in Canada.

Go here to read the full AJC 70th wedding anniversary interview with the Carters.