In the UK, a woman revealed how she fell in love with a man who is 19 years younger than her.
Alice Lord, 50, told The Sun how her friends call her boyfriend, Ben Sharp, 31, her ‘toyboy’ while strangers mistake him as her son.
The couple, from Stafford, Staffordshire, refused to let strangers’ comments and stares affect them and claim that age is just a number.
“I’ve recently turned 50 and I know Ben loves me for who I am, not a silly number,” Alice, who works as an account manager, said. “Who cares if he’s young enough to be my son? We’re having the time of our lives.”
In August 2019, Alice went to an open mic night at a bar.
“As my friend and I found a table, I spotted a younger man nearby,” Sharon said. “I thought he was gorgeous but he didn’t look a day over 25. So, I shut it down in my head straight away, as he was too young for me.”
“Turns out, he knew my friend and came over,” she continued. “My friend immediately told him to guess my age. Although I was pleased he thought I looked younger, I was still disappointed because he was too young.”
“Ben asked if I was 22 and I laughed and called him a charmer,” Alice said. “I then admitted I was 48. He looked genuinely surprised and told me that he was 29.”
Despite the evident age gap, Alice and Ben, who works as a sales assistant, continued talking all night.
“My friend left us and Ben and I got to know each other,” Alice said. “I told Ben how I’d been divorced for 14 years and I had a 20-year-old daughter, Jasmine, who had Asperger’s.”
“I said how up until recently, I’d been home-schooling her and it’d been really hard to meet someone,” she continued. “To my surprise, Ben was an amazing listener. That night we kissed and he walked me home.”
As Alice and Ben said their goodbyes that night, they exchanged numbers.
“It was such an unexpected evening,” Alice said. “But I didn’t expect to hear from him again because I thought there was no way he’d want to date a 48-year-old.”
“But days later, he asked me out,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it.”
The following week, Alice said that they met up for drinks.
“Ben said he didn’t care about our age gap and that he fancied me,” Alice said. “I was so touched.”
After that particular date, the couple made their relationship official. Weeks later, Alice then admitted that he’s dating a younger man to her daughter.
“As Jasmine was only nine years younger than Ben, I was so nervous,” Alice said. “But she smiled and said how happy she was for me. I was so relieved.”
“Not long after, I took Ben to a cafe to meet her and the two of them hit it off,” she continued. “After that, Ben brought out an adventurous side of me I hadn’t felt in years.”
In September 2019, the couple broke the news of their union to the rest of their family and friends.
“My friends kept joking that Ben was my ‘toyboy.’ Others laughed and said ‘Enjoy it while it lasts’ which did upset me,” Alice said. “But I was determined to prove them wrong.”
“Ben’s dad asked him if he was embarrassed to be seen with me. I was upset but he was just in shock,” she said. “Eventually Ben introduced us and he was so welcoming to me.”
In October 2020, Ben finally moved in with Alice and her daughter, however, the couple began receiving weird looks from strangers.
“One day, Ben and I were hugging outside a pub when a group of girls started staring,” she said. “They clearly thought I was Ben’s mum. He realized too and suddenly kissed me. Then, he joked, ‘And that’s why Dad doesn’t let you drink!’”
“The girls gasped and I went bright red, but Ben just laughed,” Alice said. “After that, Ben loved to freak out strangers by calling me ‘Mum.’ I guess it was just his way of dealing with it.”
“Sometimes I’d get embarrassed but then I’d realize, at least we could make a joke of it.”
Now, it has been a year since they started dating, and Alice became is enraged by stranger’s stares.
“Everywhere we went, people would nudge each other and gawk at us. I hated it,” she said. “Then once Ben and I went to the vet and the man thought I was his mother.”
“I was humiliated and I’d had enough of people making me feel old,” Alice added. “I decided that the next time someone said something, I’d stand up for us.”
“That year, it happened again at my work’s Christmas party. A woman asked if I was his mother,” she said. “I proudly slid my arm through Ben’s and said ‘He’s not my son, he’s my boyfriend.’ Now, I don’t care what people think.”
“If people can’t get their heads around it, that’s their problem,” Alice proudly said. “I love Ben so much and we’re happy, so that’s all that matters.”