We get a whole new perception about marrying a trucker after meeting with this couple.

There is nothing to be worried about if you are marrying a trucker, given you and your partner both know how to play your own role. Salmah bt Johari 39, has been married to Jamil B Shahudin 47, for almost 19 years and they have three sons. They have some more good news as she is confirmed to be pregnant with their fourth child. But how does this relationship work when one partner is always on the road?

During their courting, Mrs Salmah told us that she was already aware of Mr Jamil’s job and the implications. “He worked as a driver since he was still a bachelor. We rarely met, only using the technology available back then to communicate, but I was comfortable with that,” said Mrs Salmah. She even added that she is not a very outgoing person and the same goes for Mr Jamil.

Mrs Salmah is not only taking care of the household, she also has her own job, working as operations manager in a logistic company. As both are working partners we must be wondering how they manage to find time to be spent together.

“Basically, from my point of view, being a wife, a mother and a working person, I can’t deny that I need to sacrifice more in a marriage. I have to handle the whole internal matter in the house which is my children and my mother (Mrs Salmah’s mother is living with her). But what makes things easier is when my husband knows what are his responsibilities and with his help, I don’t feel any burden,” said Mrs Salmah.

She will make sure that every Sunday is the family day as usually her husband is off duty on Sundays. On that day, all her siblings will gather at her house. Mr Jamil prefers to come home directly every time he finishes his work early as he does not like to hang around with his friends.

“Every marriage will have its ups and downs. The hardest time we have been through was when Jamil’s truck has to be in the workshop for a total of three months. Therefore, he had no salary for three months. That is the time when only my salary was available to cover everything. However, we managed to get through it,” she recalls the hard time.

She and her children have followed Jamil on one of his trip to Penang simply to show her children about their father’s work. One thing that they still practice after 19 years of marriage is communication. “Communication is always the crucial part in every relationship. My husband will call me every two hours even just to ask if I have taken my breakfast and we will spend a few minutes talking about anything before we go to sleep,” said Mrs Salmah.

At the end of our interview, she points out that it is nothing to do with who you choose to be your spouse as long as you try to understand each other, always compromise, respect and trust your partner.