<p>The purpose of this study was to examine how prior circumstances in midlife (average age 40) and early older adulthood (average age 65) impacted rural older adult mental and financial well-being during the pandemic. We also investigated the moderating effect of a warm marital relationship on these associations. Data came from four time points of the Iowa Youth and Families Project and Later Adulthood Study (1990–1992, 2015, 2017, 2021) and included 279 rural White older adults aged 61 to 86 from enduring marriages (<i>M</i>_age = 71; 53% women). Structural equation models revealed that rural older adults experienced more perceived anxiety change during the pandemic if they were emotionally distressed during midlife. Meanwhile, financial strain due to the pandemic was influenced more by economic pressure from recent years (early older adulthood), though it continued from midlife. The negative impact of economic pressure in early older adulthood on financial strain during COVID-19 was mitigated for rural older adults who reported high levels of spousal warmth three years before the pandemic. Our findings from a 30-year longitudinal study help us understand the different effects of pre-pandemic emotional and economic conditions and the role of spousal warmth in how earlier stressors impact rural older adult well-being during a negative sociohistorical event.</p>