From 30 days to 65 years: couples weigh in on how they make it work

Valentine's Days come and go but after the heart-shaped chocolates and long-stemmed red roses, what does it take to make a relationship last?

We asked three couples who are at various stages of their relationships.

Married for 65 years

Agnes Becker was 18 years old when she left Europe for Vancouver. She was homesick and in search of a new church,when she overheard a family speaking German. Feeling nostalgic,she walked over to speak to them in her native tongue.

That's when she met her husband, Walter.

"She was very beautiful. I thought I would like to marry her," he said.

The pair decided to get married two months after they met, because Walter's father was dying of cancer.

"He didn't make it. He was very sick. It was sort of a sad wedding," said Agnes.

Through manyups and downs, the couple has stayed together and recently celebrated their 65thwedding anniversary.

They live in a retirement home in Vancouver and to this day, Walter said he can't fall asleep unless his wife is beside him.

"It's our faiththat keeps us strong," said Agnes.

She said her 90-year-old husband's strong character is also what has kept her going.

"He has helped me growup a lot actually," she said.

Listen to Walter as he talks about how one of the secrets to their long-lasting relationship is makingdecisions together:

Married for 47 years

Surrinder Singh's meeting with her husband was arranged by their families. She was best friends with her husband's sister.

She met Anant Pal Singh on Dec. 14, 1971, when they had their first date in the company of six other relatives.

Though, they both had the right to say no, they were engaged onDec. 25 and married on Boxing Day.

"Would I say I was in love? I don't know. But the click was there," said Surrinder.

"Love lasts only the first few years.After that, it's all about your loyalty to each other and commitment to each other," she said.

The couple said they've been there for each other but always given each other space to follow their own careers, dreams and passions.

"We just stay out of each other's hair," joked Anant Pal.

"The main thing is to respect and trust eachother, talk things out," saidAnantPal.

"Each marriage has ups and downs. You argue and you sort of nag, but at the end of the day you have to forget all that," said Surrinder, "He keeps quietmany times."

"The best part is silence is golden!" said AnantPal.

Married for 30 days

While Surrinder and Anant Pal Singh tout the virtues of silence, newlyweds Tiffany and Jeff Abaquin are just learning how to communicate.

The pair tied the knot 30 days ago.

"Ithink it increased our communication. There are a lot of things that don't come up until everyone's family is in one city and a lot of things can come up that we had to talk about," said Tiffany.

Even though the pair hired a wedding planner and the event went off without a hitch,there were a lot of things they said they had to discuss between themselves.

"In those moments, we just really increased, as the cliche goes, increased communication," said Jeff.

"We talked a lot aboutyour family values arethis, my family value is thisand through that we learned a lot about how we want our future family values," he said.

The couple said they have read plenty of books and talked to many other couples about what makes a relationship successful.

Their biggest takeaways are to ensure your interests, goals and values align.

"And not just brushed under the rug hoping that the other person will change," said Jeff.

No matter how long you've been together, there is one thing all the couples agree on:there is no such thing as a perfectrelationship.