Marking Valentine’s Day in perfect style, seven couples each broke for the longest marathon hug record during a successful attempt at Sydney’s Darling Harbour.The cuddly event originally began with 12 couples hugging it out to win a $20,000 diamond ring. Within the first hour four couples were disqualified for moving their hand positions, leaving the remaining eight to settle in for the long haul. After exactly 26 hours and 5 seconds of hugging, the couples released their arms simultaneously. The previous record of 25 hours, 22 minutes and 36 seconds had been smashed by over half an hour.