My dad was 32 years older than my mum. They met when she was 22 and he was 54. It was love at first sight, an they moved in together after just 2 weeks of knowing each other.
Caused some ructions as Mum was younger than Dad's daughter (by a good few years) and my half-sister accused her of being a 'gold digger'. Until Mum rightly pointed out that Dad didn't HAVE any money.
Plus Dad was a respected pillar of the community, ex-military, terribly proper, quite posh. Basically the last person you'd expect to hook up with a mini-skirted 22 year old hippy, and shack up "in sin" after a fortnight.
But they were completely and utterly in love. I came along when Dad was 60, and when he retired at 64 he was my main carer. He was simply the best Dad in the world, and I adored him.
He was very sporty and physically fit. A gymnast in his younger years. Didn't look his age, even in his 60s, and was still playing badminton in his 70s.
The last few years were very tough for my mum, though, as he went downhill pretty fast in his 80s, and became almost completely deaf-blind. So Mum was his carer as much as his wife. But they laughed every day, and were as much in love as they were in their prime.
He died of pancreatic cancer in 2005 aged 89. Mum was devastated. I still miss him massively. Every day. He was the best of men. Patient, kind, generous. A calm, stalwart presence in all our lives.
So not always easy. But I know mum wouldn't change a second of it. And I'd never have wanted a different dad.
My only regret is that I left it too late to find a decent man to marry, so my Dad didn't get to walk me down the aisle or meet our DDs. Both of those things would have made him so happy. That does get me choked, to this day. 'd have loved our DDs to have know their lovely, lovely granddad.
So, stuff em. If he's the one for you then it really makes no odds what anyone thinks. They said my parents would never last, that it was a folly. But they were happily married nearly 35 years, a length of time many more conventional couples never manage.
db
xx
Oh, and BigBandWidth, you were massively rude and insensitive, FWIW. You are entitled to your opinion, but you are also beholden to take account of the feelings of others when choosing how - and if - to express it. That's called being a grown-up. There are people on here who have lost people they love, who most likely don't appreciate their relationship being described as 'creepy'. Shame on you.