Legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin gave the biggest gift to himself on his 93rd birthday by marrying his longtime girlfriend Anca Faur, 63. Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon after Neil Armstrong, shared the exciting news on Twitter revealing that he and Faur got hitched in a private ceremony in Los Angeles, California.
This is Aldrin's fourth marriage. Aldrin who turned 93 on Friday was part of the historic moon mission in 1969 along with Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins. Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the moon, while Collins stayed in the space shuttle before they successfully returned to earth.
Hitched at 93
Aldrin, who is 30 years older than Faur, shared the exciting news on Twitter and wrote, "On my 93rd birthday & the day I will also be honored by Living Legends of Aviation I am pleased to announce that my longtime love Dr. Anca Faur & I have tied the knot," the NASA legend tweeted.
"We were joined in holy matrimony in a small private ceremony in Los Angeles & are as excited as eloping teenagers."
The tweet was accompanied by two photos from the private ceremony, which featured the new Mrs. Aldrin wearing a white gown embellished with rhinestones. Aldrin, for his part, looked dapper in a black suit and a bowtie.
Fauer, who was born in Romania, is currently Buzz Aldrin Ventures' executive vice president. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a Ph.D. in chemical engineering.
However, the astronaut is not saying "I do" for the first time.
Aldrin has been married and divorced three times earlier to Joan Ann Archer from 1954 to 1974, Beverly Van Zile from 1975 to 1978 and Lois Driggs Cannon from 1988 to 2012.
He has three children from his first wife -- James, Janice, and Andrew.
From his daughter Janice, he has one grandson, Jeffrey Schuss, three great-grandsons, and a great-granddaughter.
Living Life King Size
On July 16, 1969, Aldrin, Armstrong, and Collins launched into space on a mission unlike any other with the goal of landing humans on the moon for the first time. Aldrin is best known for saluting the American flag on the moon's surface during the Apollo 11 lunar mission.
He was the Lunar Module Eagle pilot and stayed on the surface of the moon for 19 minutes.
He left NASA in 1971 and started the non-profit ShareSpace Foundation in 1998 to promote the expansion of crewed space travel.
Aldrin claimed that after making history, he went through a difficult period in which he was unsure of his own priorities. He struggled with alcoholism and despair, but he has been sober for more than 40 years.
In 2002, Aldrin avoided being charged with assault after hitting a guy who demanded he swear on a Bible that the moon landing was not staged
He also filed a lawsuit against his former business manager Christina Korp and two of his children, Andrew and Janice, five years ago, claiming they had stolen money from him and tarnished his reputation by implying he had dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
He dropped the lawsuit in 2019 after his two children withdrew their claim for guardianship of his affairs.
Aldrin was in news last year when the jacket he wore on his historic first lunar landing mission in 1969 sold at auction for about $2.8 million.
The jacket was worn both to and from the moon. It is the sole piece of clothing ever made available for private purchase from the space mission.
It displays Aldrin's name tag on the left breast above the Apollo 11 mission emblem, and the American flag on the left shoulder.
