An Italian couple are to become the world's oldest divorcees, after the 99-year-old husband found that his 96-year-old wife had an affair in the 1940s.

The Italian man, identified by lawyers in the case only as Antonio C, was rifling through an old chest of drawers when he made the discovery a few days before Christmas.

Notwithstanding the time that had elapsed since the betrayal, he was so upset that he immediately confronted his wife of 77 years, named as Rosa C, and demanded a divorce.

Guilt-stricken, she reportedly confessed everything but was unable to persuade her husband to reconsider his decision.

She wrote the letters to her lover during a secret affair in the 1940s, according to court papers released in Rome this week.

The couple are now preparing to split, despite the ties they forged over nearly eight decades – they have five children, a dozen grandchildren and one great-grand child.

The discovery of the letters was the final straw for a marriage which had already run into difficulty – 10 years ago the husband briefly¹ left their house in Rome and moved in with one of his sons, only to return a few weeks later.

The Italian press attributed the acrimonious² split to the couple's southern blood – he is originally from Olbia in Sardinia, while his wife was born in Naples.

The couple met during the 1930s when Antonio was posted as a young Carabinieri officer to Naples.

The case appears to set a new record, at least for the age of the oldest protagonist³ – the previous oldest couple to divorce were Bertie and Jessie Wood, both aged⁴ 98, from the UK.

The pair ended their 36-year marriage in 2009 when they were both two years away from their 100th birthdays.

They got married in Elstree, Hertfordshire, in 1972, having both ended previous marriages, before moving to Falmouth, Cornwall four years later.

意大利一对夫妇将成为世界上最高龄的离婚者。99岁的丈夫日前发现自己96岁的妻子在上世纪40年代有过一段婚外情。

律师称这名意大利男子为安东尼奥•C。他在圣诞节前几天翻一个旧衣柜时，发现了妻子多年前的婚外情。

尽管这段婚外情发生距今已有几十年，但安东尼奥仍然非常难过，立刻找来结婚77年的妻子罗莎•C对证，要求离婚。

据报道，妻子为此心存愧疚，坦白了一切，但没能说服丈夫回心转意。

法庭于本周在罗马公布的法庭文件称，罗莎在20世纪40年代有一段秘密的婚外情，她给情人写了这些信件。

这对夫妇目前准备离婚，尽管他们已经结婚近80年之久。他们有5名子女、12名孙辈，还有一名曾孙。

发现这些情书是压倒这段婚姻的最后一根稻草。此前，两人的婚姻已经遇到麻烦，10年前，丈夫曾暂时离开两人位于罗马的住宅，搬走和一个儿子同住，但在几周后返回。

意大利媒体将两人间决绝的离异归因于两人的南部血统，丈夫来自撒丁岛的奥比亚，而妻子出生在那不勒斯。

两人于20世纪30年代相识，安东尼奥当时是那不勒斯一位年轻的宪兵军官。

两人的离婚创下了纪录，最起码成为了年龄最大的离婚者。之前年龄最大的离婚者是英国一对98岁的夫妇伯蒂和杰西•伍德。

伯蒂和杰西•伍德在2009年结束了长达36年的婚姻，当时他们两人都年届98岁高龄。

两人于1972年在赫特福德郡的埃尔斯特里结婚，之前都有过婚史。四年后，两人搬到康沃尔的法尔茅斯生活。