A young Mitt Romney probably had other things on his mind than running for the White House when he threw pebbles at a girl called Ann Lois Davies as she rode past him on a horse.

He was a Cub Scout at the time, still in elementary school, but the future Ann Romney made a lasting impression. They started dating in high school and married in 1969. Forty-three years and five children later, Ann Romney, 63, is a tireless campaigner for her husband’s bid for the US presidency, striving to show the nation he has a more human side than his wooden style suggests.

“You can trust Mitt,” she told the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida in August. “He loves America. He will take us to a better place... This man will not let us down. This man will lift up America.”

Ann gained national prominence during the Republican primaries in April when Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen snickered on national television how the well-to-do Romney “actually never worked a day in her life”.

“I made a choice to stay home and raise five boys,” Ann riposted unapologetically in her first-ever post on Twitter. “Believe me, it was hard work.”

The Romneys routinely call each other “sweetie” and hold each other’s hands, and their squeaky-clean and loving family life – built on Mormon values – is a clear vote-winner among traditionalists. The aspiring First Lady has by no means had an easy life, however.

In 1988 she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which she manages with a combination of orthodox medicine and equine therapy. More recently she battled a non-invasive form of breast cancer that now is in remission.

“She credits her husband’s unwavering care and devotion to her for helping her through these ordeals,” Romney’s campaign website says. (AFP)