Was it love at first sight for the Regulas?

“Almost,” he said. “You’d have to define love, but I’d say it was that way for both of us.”

The key to their marriage’s success, Regula said, is that they have been “teammates” as much in his political work as in the upkeep of the farm where they have lived for 57 years.

“I often joke that the only person that could beat me in a primary out there is my wife,” he said.

The No. 1 spot in marriage longevity belongs to Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas). He has been married to wife Mary Ellen for 64 years. On their anniversary, Ralph sends two bunches of roses to his wife. One arrives before 6 p.m., the time they were married, and is addressed to “Miss Mary Ellen Murphy,” her maiden name. Another arrives after 6 p.m. and is addressed to “Mrs. Mary Ellen Hall.”

“We’ve had a wonderful marriage,” he said. “She’s beautiful inside and out.”

Experts insist such love is rare.

“I believe in love at first sight, [but] I don’t think it happens to many people,” said Ann Wood, who runs a Washington matchmaking business. She remembers just one case in which a couple married six weeks after she paired them together.

“I think [love at first sight] happens less frequently, because it’s more likely to happen when people are young and inexperienced,” she said, explaining that she sees the current D.C. dating population as older and more experienced than in eras past.

Even some of the Congress members who enjoy fairy-tale marriages had to work for them. “I turned him down 13 or 14 times,” Debbie Dingell said of John Dingell’s attempts to take her on a date.

John Dingell remembers the courtship a bit differently. “Fifteen times” she turned him down, he said.

The clincher? John got tickets to the ballet, one of Debbie’s passions and an invitation she couldn’t refuse.