99-year-old divorces wife after he discovered 1940s affair

99岁老汉求离婚 只为老伴70年的婚外情

An Italian couple are to become the world's oldest divorcees, after the 99-year-old husband found that his 96-year-old wife had an affair in the 1940s.

意大利一对夫妇将成为世界上龄的离婚者。99岁的丈夫日前发现自己96岁的妻子在上世纪40年代有过一段婚外情。

The Italian man, identified by lawyers in the case only as Antonio C, was rifling through an old chest of drawers when he made the discovery a few days before Christmas.

这起离婚案中的男主角被律师称为Antonio C（保密原因），圣诞节前几天，这位意大利老翁在家里的衣柜里找东西时发现了妻子曾经有外遇的证据，成了龄离婚事件的导火索。

Notwithstanding the time that had elapsed since the betrayal, he was so upset that he immediately confronted his wife of 77 years, named as Rosa C, and demanded a divorce.

尽管距离妻子的那次背叛已经过去多年，安东尼奥还是非常难过，马上和已经结婚77年的妻子Rosa C对质，并提出了离婚。

Guilt-stricken, she reportedly confessed everything but was unable to persuade her husband to reconsider his decision.

出于愧疚，妻子向他坦白了一切，但仍然无法说服丈夫收回离婚的决定。

She wrote the letters to her lover during a secret affair in the 1940s, according to court papers released in Rome this week.

这起离婚案本周在罗马开庭审理，法庭文件显示，罗莎在上世纪40年代有一段地下情，在此期间她和情人保持书信往来。

The couple are now preparing to split, despite the ties they forged over nearly eight decades – they have five children, a dozen grandchildren and one great-grand child.

这对夫妇现在已经准备分开，然而过去将近80年里他们共同建立起来的联系却无法分割——他们有5个孩子，12个孙子，还有1个曾孙。

The discovery of the letters was the final straw for a marriage which had already run into difficulty – 10 years ago the husband briefly left their house in Rome and moved in with one of his sons, only to return a few weeks later.

这些信件的曝光成为了压垮他们婚姻的一根稻草，而此前他们的婚姻已经出现危机——10年前丈夫就曾离开他们在罗马的住所，搬去和他的一个儿子同住，几周后才回到家。

The Italian press attributed the acrimonious split to the couple's southern blood – he is originally from Olbia in Sardinia, while his wife was born in Naples.

意大利媒体将这起带有讽刺意味的离婚案归咎于这对夫妇的南部血统——丈夫来自撒丁岛的奥尔比亚，而妻子则是出生在那不勒斯。

The couple met during the 1930s when Antonio was posted as a young Carabinieri officer to Naples.

这对夫妻初次相遇是在上世纪30年代，当时安东尼奥作为一名年轻的意大利宪兵队军官被派往那不勒斯。

The case appears to set a new record, at least for the age of the oldest protagonist – the previous oldest couple to divorce were Bertie and Jessie Wood, both aged 98, from the UK.

这起离婚案似乎刷新了一项纪录，至少在离婚者的年龄上是如此——此前龄的离婚夫妻是来自英国的伍德夫妇：伯蒂和杰西，都是98岁。

The pair ended their 36-year marriage in 2009 when they were both two years away from their 100th birthdays.

伍德夫妇于2009年结束了他们为期36年的婚姻，当时他们双方都只差两年就将迎来各自的百岁生日。

They got married in Elstree, Hertfordshire, in 1972, having both ended previous marriages, before moving to Falmouth, Cornwall four years later.

这对夫妻1972年在英国赫特福德郡的埃尔斯特里结婚，之前两人都有过失败的婚姻。四年后他们搬到了康沃尔郡的法尔茅斯。