The year was 1970, Linda was in Year 7 and Barry in Year 8 and both were dating someone else at the time, but the playful kiss changed everything.

By some sheer coincidence the unexpected match not only blossomed into a love story that brought the couple 54 years of companionship and love but also led to their exes making some ironic love matches.

"Barry's ex-girlfriend's sister is the one who actually introduced us and we introduced her to one of our friends and then they got married," Linda said.

"A few years later, when we were married and living at North St. Mary's, Barry's ex-girlfriend went on to marry one of the boys living next door to us!"

Linda said with a chuckle that their cupid-like matches had helped match her ex-boyfriend with one of her friends.

"My ex was a friend of Barry's actually and I introduced him to a girlfriend of mine and they ended up getting married and having two kids," she said.

"We still keep in touch," she added.

Barry and Linda married in 1974 and while not all approved of the wedding, the Haywards said nothing could have stopped them from declaring their love.

"My mother said I was too young to be married and that it wouldn't last long ... well it's been 50 years now and it remains the best decision I ever made," Barry said.

Barry and Linda were married in a courtroom in Penrith Court House, within the lounge room, with Linda's friend and ex-boyfriend as their witnesses.

"We just had our immediate family there and a couple of our friends and then we went to Springwood for our wedding night," Barry said.

"The bloke who ran the hotel ended up becoming my top commander at the police force in St Mary several years later."

The couple went on to have three children, Robyn, Leslie and Bradley. Living by modest means, the young family started out in a small two-bedroom home.

"In the early days there were times when we went without meals so that our children could eat because Barry was only an apprentice mechanic at the time," Linda said.

"It was challenging but we got on with it and made it all work, whereas these days people say that would be too hard."

Linda said one of the big differences with marriage in the 70s versus marriage in the last decade is that "people just give up too easily".

"It's easier to give up and not deal with it, whereas in our day when we got married we knew it wouldn't be a bed of roses but we worked through it, we'd stand up and fight for what we loved."

Barry added that overtime they become united as one, knowing their partner so well that they finished each other's sentences.

Barry said the most important thing was to remember that relationships were always about flexibility and compromise. Flexibility to listen and adapt to the person and compromise to make sure everyone was happy.

"It's a matter of give and take," he said.

Further down the track, Barry joined the police force and after the death of Linda's father, they inherited the family home, which is where they lived until they set their eyes on the Bega Valley in 2016.

The couple were visiting the area on one of their many caravan trips with friends, when they stopped to look at some properties in the real estate window.

Next thing they knew they were looking at a house they were interested in, 12 months later they bought it.

The Haywards sold their home in North Saint Marys in Oxley Park and then moved to the area.

"When we realised we could come down here and do the tree change we did and it's the best thing we've ever done," Linda said.

The couple said they were looking forward to celebrating their 50^th wedding anniversary at a joint party wherein they would also be celebrating their eldest daughter 50^th birthday.

Hosted at a Bega Country Club, the Haywards will be throwing a big celebration with loved ones on March 30.