Tuesday, July 6, 2010

World's Tallest Couple


With a combined height of more than 13ft, this is the world's tallest married couple.

But if Wilco Van Kleef-Bolton and his wife Keisha's two children keep growing they may end up with the world's tallest family title too.

Son Lucas, four, is already 3ft 11in - the height of a seven-year-old - and daughter Eva, two, is 3ft, the typical height of a three-year-old.

Being tall has had its up and downs for the Kleef-Boltons. When the couple first married - he's 7ft and she's 6ft 5in - they had some lofty ambitions, not least raising the doorframes in their home to stop them clipping their heads.

That issue is yet to be resolved and the couple still have a bedroom that is only big enough for a standard double bed, forcing them to sleep with their feet hanging out.

On the bright side, Mr Kleef-Bolton-29, says his height makes his work as a security guard at Barking and Dagenham College in Essex, significantly easier. 'Being this size and 18-and-a-half stone means it's no problem to pull two kids apart if they're fighting,' he said.

He also said students often compared him to England footballer Peter Crouch.

He said: 'If only I could play football like him. And with 40-ins legs like this I can get anywhere faster than anyone else.

'But of course I have to get my uniform custom-made. And finding a good pair of shoes that fit is really difficult.'

Dutch-born Mr Kleef-Bolton has to go to specialist websites that normally supply American basketball players to order the size 15 shoes he wears

His wife, 31, said her biggest problem was finding clothes large enough for her and her 38 in legs, even though she is a healthy size 12.

'I use normal women's dresses as shirts because they come up so short,' she said.

'But we both accepted our height years ago. There's not a lot you can do about it. Flying on budget airlines with no legroom is a problem too.

'And of course we get a lot of attention when we're out. But there are perks - I never have to use a stepladder to reach the top shelf.'

Mr Kleef-Bolton was referred to a specialist when he was ten and stood at 5ft 10in - the height of the average man in the UK. He was told he was naturally tall, rather than suffering from a medical condition.

He was started on hormone injections two years later because of concerns his knee joints might eventually give way under the weight of his body and he finally stopped growing aged 16.

His wife said she suffered from jokes at school about her height and had to stop wearing high heels when she was 18 and her shoe size went past an eight.

The Guinness World Record holders met when Mr Kleef-Bolton responded to her advert for a dance partner on a website for tall people, saying: 'I'm 7ft. Is that tall enough?'

Describing their wedding, he said: 'The staff at the register office agreed we were the perfect match.'

Mrs Kleef-Bolton, who had to wear men's clothing when she was pregnant because there weren't any maternity outfits big enough, said she and her husband would like to have more children.

'We think four is the ideal number but we think we can wait until these two are a bit bigger. Looking at them, it won't take that long,' she added.









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