Hector spoke to his wife Dympna at the ceili

Hector Ó hEochagáin has been married to his wife Dympna for over 20 years and they still love each other.

The 55-year-old TG4 presenter and his wife married in 2002 and now live in Galway with their two sons, Rian and Shane, who are both in their late teens.

But how exactly did the couple meet and what makes their 22-year marriage so strong that he still calls her his “best friend”?

How they met

Hector met his future wife Dympna at the Oireachtas céilí in Donegal. He invited her to dance with Clare and they have been dancing ever since.

He was only 18 at the time, but they immediately bonded over Irish music and the Irish language, and he began talking to her using an Irish phrase, according to the Irish Independent.

Hector said: “I was in a small hotel in Glencolumbkille on the west coast. Next stop was America. And I saw her at a céilí that afternoon and she was playing traditional music, flute and whistle, with some clever people. I asked her to dance.

“We danced to Clare’s set. I didn’t know I was marrying the Rolling Stones of céilí music because her whole family is in the Kilfenora Céilí Band.”

Moving to Spain and back

When Hector and Dympna hit it off, she moved to Spain to work as a teacher, and Hector, who was in love with her, followed her.

Living abroad, Hector probably got his first taste of travel and even learned Spanish while he was there. Upon returning to Ireland, Hector got a job as a travel presenter on TG4.

20 years of marriage

Hector and Dympna married in 2002, and even after two decades of marriage, his dream Saturday night was spent with her.

He previously opened up to EVOKE about the secret to their long marriage and opened up about their home life, saying: “She’s been my best friend since (we first met). There’s a lot of love in our home.”

Raising Teenage Boys

Hector and Dympna have two teenage sons, Rian and Shane, and he says they consciously try to be role models for his sons about what a healthy, loving marriage should be.

He said: “I want to show them as much love as I can between me and their mom. Sometimes we are very negative about teenagers, but they are very intuitive.

“If they see a lot of love in the house, let’s keep our fingers crossed, they’ll show a lot of love. That’s all we can do.”