Wiel Coerver, 29 years old and standing at 2.13 meters tall, and his wife, Keisha Bolton, 31 years old and 1.96 meters tall, have a combined height of 4.09 meters, earning them the title of Britain's tallest couple.
Living in Dagenham, Essex, Wiel Coerver and Keisha Bolton are certainly a towering pair. Coerver, who was born in the Netherlands before moving to the UK, had already grown to nearly 1.78 meters by the age of 10. Two years later, to prevent his knee joints from being unable to bear his weight, he began receiving hormone injections to control his growth, which ended when he was 16.
Bolton recalls being teased by classmates during her school days due to her height. After turning 18, she never wore high heels again.
Coerver and Bolton met through the UK's "Tall Persons Club." Both were avid dancers, and Bolton was seeking a dance partner of suitable height, so she asked the club for help.
When Coerver responded, he asked: "I am 2.13 meters tall, is that tall enough?"
After meeting, they fell in love and registered their marriage in 2001.
First Problem: Renovating the House
The first challenge this couple faced after getting married was renovating their home. To avoid bumping their heads when entering the house, they had the doorframes raised and the kitchen countertops modified.
However, limited by the bedroom space, their bedroom still contains a standard-sized double bed. A photo published by the UK's Daily Mail on the 5th shows that when they sleep, their feet hang off the edge of the bed.
Bolton said, despite her body size being standard, "Finding clothes that fit me is a nightmare. Regular women's dresses look like shirts on me; they're just too short." During her pregnancy, because she couldn't find maternity clothes in her size, she had to wear men's clothing.
Coerver wears US size 15 shoes. He either has them custom-made or buys them from specialized websites frequented by American basketball players. His work uniforms also need to be custom-made.
Advantages of Height
Of course, height can also play a role in daily life. "When reaching for items on high shelves, I never need a ladder," Bolton said.
Coerver currently works as a security guard at Barking College. He says that finding this job was helped by his height and near 117.5 kg weight. "My size means that when two students are fighting, I can easily separate them."
Coerver and Bolton now have a son and a daughter. Their son Lucas is 4 years old and stands at 1.19 meters, equivalent to the average height of a 7-year-old child; their daughter Eva, though only 2 years old, has already grown to 0.91 meters, equivalent to the average height of a 3-year-old child.
(Joanne Yip - Special contribution to our newspaper by Xinhua News Agency)