Taya Kyle’s emotional, strong, beautiful love letter to her late husband Chris

This past Monday, Chris Kyle and his wife Taya would have celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary. If you recognize their names, that’s because Kyle is the subject of the Oscar nominated film American Sniper, and has been heavily in the news as of late — thanks to the film’s success but also thanks to the trial of the man who shot and killed him two years ago.

With all the media attention on the Kyles, it has become rather easy to imagine Chris and Taya as characters in a drawn out and complicated narrative, rather than a real-life married couple who were once very much in love. Well the unbelievably beautiful letter Taya posted to her husband on Facebook (on, yes, the date of their anniversary) is a glimpse into a very real marriage, and a very real love story that completely inspires. Hearing the truth and beauty in Taya’s words made us empathize so much, and allowed us to begin to understand Chris and Taya as a real couple and not just an amazing story.

To mark the occasion of their anniversary, Taya penned a tribute that gives a beautiful glimpse into their life together. A glimpse beyond the highlights and the fanfare, and instead zooms in on the simple, special, daily moments in their too-short life together.

“I am thinking of November 2012 when you sent me a dozen long stem red roses with a card that said ‘Just Because.’” she writes. “And how you had them delivered even though were were home together that day. You just want to surprise me. You did and it made my day like you made so many others.”

Read Taya’s beautiful post below. Not only is her tribute and love for her husband so palpable and pure, but the strength in her words and her commitment to carrying on his legacy is so admirable. We’re thinking of you, Taya, and while the story of Chris’ death is incredibly sad, it’s beautiful to know that love this strong, this deep, this real, exists.

You can see the full post here.

(Image via Facebook)