A once besotted couple who broke the world record for the longest kiss have sadly revealed they’re no longer together.
Ekkachai Tiranarat and his wife Laksana, from Thailand, kept their lips locked for a whopping 58 hours and 35 minutes, breaking the Guinness World Record in 2013.
But speaking on new BBC Sounds podcast, Witness History, Ekkachai revealed the couple split but says he remains ‘very proud’ of the record.
He explained the competition’s stringent rules included sustaining the kiss during toilet trips and having to pass water between each other’s mouths, which he claims made the experience far from enjoyable.
‘I am very proud. It was a once in a lifetime experience,’ he told host Megan Jones on the podcast.
‘We spent a long time together and I’m trying to remember the good memories and that we did this together.’
Two-time winners of the competition, Ekkachai and Laksana first set the world record for the longest kiss in 2011, when they lasted for 46 hours and 24 minutes.
The couple initially didn’t sign up for the 2011 competition, which was scheduled for a few days before Valentine’s Day, as hopeless romantics eager to spend hours in each other’s arms.
Laksana had just recovered from a long illness and Ekkachai was keen to whisk her away on holiday for a ‘change of scenery’.
But the promise of 50,000 Thai Baht (approximately £1,200 at the time) and a diamond ring was more than enough to convince the couple to throw their hat in the ring.
Yet, the contest didn’t get off to a good start when Ekkachai felt faint shortly after arriving at the Royal Garden Plaza shopping mall in the city of Pattaya in eastern Thailand.
‘There were a lot of people there, there were around 14 couples competing and a lot of media hovering around them,’ he said.
‘I felt like I was going to faint, some of the spectators handed me an inhaler to support me along the way.’
Still, that was nothing compared to what lay ahead.
Ekkachai recalled being ‘stunned’ by the rules for the world record attempt, which demanded that ‘lips must be touching at all times’ and ‘the couple must be awake at all times.’
In addition, the rules stated that ‘contestants must stand during the attempt and cannot be propped together by any aids’ and that ‘adult nappies, diapers or incontinence pads’ were banned.
Laksana had just recovered from a long illness and Ekkachai was keen to whisk her away on holiday for a ‘change of scenery’.
But the promise of 50,000 Thai Baht (approximately £1,200 at the time) and a diamond ring was more than enough to convince the couple to throw their hat in the ring.
Yet, the contest didn’t get off to a good start when Ekkachai felt faint shortly after arriving at the Royal Garden Plaza shopping mall in the city of Pattaya in eastern Thailand.
‘There were a lot of people there, there were around 14 couples competing and a lot of media hovering around them,’ he said.
‘I felt like I was going to faint, some of the spectators handed me an inhaler to support me along the way.’
Still, that was nothing compared to what lay ahead.
Ekkachai recalled being ‘stunned’ by the rules for the world record attempt, which demanded that ‘lips must be touching at all times’ and ‘the couple must be awake at all times.’
In addition, the rules stated that ‘contestants must stand during the attempt and cannot be propped together by any aids’ and that ‘adult nappies, diapers or incontinence pads’ were banned.
To this day, Ekkachai is recognised in the street and asked if he took part in the kissing competition.
And, since Guinness World Records cancelled the longest kiss category after their 2013 win, he and now ex-wife Laksana remain the world record holders.
The organisation said the category was cancelled because it had become too dangerous and some of the rules no longer married up with their updated policies.