Forget The Notebook’s Noah and Allie. They’re not the only characters who embody true love.

Isaac and Teresa Vatkin were in their early twenties when they met each other. The Argentinians got married quickly, and they moved to the United States to start their own family. While the husband ventured into the food industry, his wife was the one who raised their three children while working at a nail salon. However, work was just one aspect of their lives. The family was bonded by their dedication and love. As the couple grew older, their kids had kids. Vatkin and his spouse were just as involved, though. “The couple raised three children in Skokie, Illinois, and had a close relationship with their grandchildren,” a BBC News article states. They saw family as most important, but they never forgot to cherish their alone time together.

“Their love for each other was so strong, they simply could not live without each other,” their daughter Clara Gesklin affirms. She knew the bond her parents shared was sacred, but she never realized the potency until after her mother and father’s death. Vatkin and his wife were holding hands when they passed away an hour apart. “Vatkin, 91, was holding the hand of his wife Teresa, 89, as she succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease on Saturday. Isaac died 40 minutes later,” the article continues. People might’ve thought that true love only existed between the pages of cliché romance novels, but the Vatkins proved that true love exists in reality, too.

“They were always in love, literally to the end. To the last second,” says their Rabbi Barry Schechter.

While their loved ones mourn, they can take comfort in the fact that Vatkin and his wife left Earth at the same time. They were just meant to be together … forever.