Having to deal with the challenges of being in an interracial relationship in the 1960s only made Chubby Checker and his wife Catharina Lodders’ love grow, writes Philippa Masinde for AmoMama. 

The couple, who live in Paoli, have been together for nearly six decades and are the proud grandparents of seven. 

The singer, made famous by his reimagining of Hank Ballard’s “The Twist,” met his wife while performing in the Philippines in January 1962. The lady in her polka dot bathing suit that took his breath away was a literal beauty queen: the Netherlands native held the crown of Miss World in 1962. 

They fell in love and Checker proposed the following year. They were married in 1964, three years before the ban on interracial marriages was finally lifted in the United States. 

They often experienced racial discrimination and criticism for being in a relationship. They had trouble buying a home in Philadelphia, but persevered and finally purchased a home in Paoli in 1965, where they still live. 

Today, Checker is 81 and still dances every chance he gets, including at rock and roll music festivals and on cruises. 

Read more about Chubby Checker in AmoMama. 

_____