Gretchen Dillon, a 36-year-old woman, shared her experience of falling in love with her 63-year-old partner, Michael Dillon. Initially, she felt upset when they first slept together, likely due to concerns about their age difference.
However, despite this initial hesitation, they continued their relationship and started dating in 2015.
Despite the age gap, Gretchen and Michael’s love deepened, leading them to welcome their first child, a baby boy, in May 2018. They eventually got married in February 2018.
Despite facing judgment from others who mistook Michael as her father, Gretchen and Michael chose to ignore the comments and focus on their love and family.
She said: “People often mistake my husband for my dad – but we laugh it off.
“Their perceptions quickly change when they get to know Michael and I – they can see we just make sense.
“My friend tried to stop me marrying him. She kept saying I was going to be a widow because he’s nearly 30 years older than me, but I loved him and didn’t care.
“I was upset when Michael and I first slept together because in my head I didn’t think I wanted to be with an older man. I took some time and came to terms with it. Now I’m happier than ever.”
“My friends were equally shocked, but their worries went away when they could see how happy I was.”
How she felt after he proposed to her twice, she said: “I told him I didn’t want a big show and I didn’t want a ring…he presented me with a literal diamond rock, not on a ring.
“I was so upset that he thought he could propose to me on a technicality, I said no on principle in front of his family.
“I cried the entire next day, we had to talk a lot.
“He proposed to me the second time in December on a sunrise kayaking trip in Florida, so I accepted.”
How he feels when people calls him grandpa, he said: “People think I’m Shannon’s grandad all the time but I just laugh it off.
“The hardest thing about being an older dad is Shannon has just started playgroup and he brings home a lot of colds and bugs.
“The immune system of a 36-year-old is a whole lot better than the immune system of a 63-year-old.
“I constantly have these colds, it’s exhausting.
‘The hardest physical aspect is getting up in the middle of the night but that’s becoming less and less and Shannon is a joy.”
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