A woman who is 26 years younger than her partner has said people constantly assume they are related.
Allison, 45, and Ben Hornsby, 71, met in 1998 when the now-retired USPS worker delivered post to the pawn shop where Allison was working.
The couple, who now have five kids, are completely in love but have faced much abuse over the years.
‘People in public have wrongly assumed I am Ben’s daughter,’ Allison, a content creator, said.
‘Teachers have assumed Ben is our children’s grandfather. I feel like people assume age gap relationships are shallow and that we couldn’t be truly happy.’
Allison gave birth to triplets Benjamin, Noah and Ethan in 2003, at the age of 26, with Ben becoming a father for the first time at 52.
Then three years later, she had twins, Mia and Jude, who are now 16 years old.
While raising their children, the Florida couple faced negative commentary from others.
Allison also frequently receives messages from men offering to be her ‘sugar daddy’ or ‘side piece’ – which she, of course, declines.
Allison said: ‘We have received some abusive comments on our Instagram post[s].
‘We get inappropriate messages, mostly from men, with older men offering to be my sugar daddy. Younger men offer me to be a side piece. Obviously this is offensive – we have a very healthy marriage.
‘We share small parts of our life on our Instagram account to show the beauty of a strong marriage. Ben retired in 2010 which has allowed him to be present and available to help raise our family.
‘During the time he worked as a mailman, he would take his lunch at our house and change diapers, or help me with the kids.’
Ben added: ‘Our biggest challenge has been raising our five children.
‘Having triplets and twins is a lot of work. Raising five children together has been somewhat overwhelming, but we do it together.’
Although many people have objected to their relationship, the couple says their respective families are very accepting and supportive, having approved of their love from the start.
However, some friends and colleagues didn’t share this happy opinion and Ben was made fun of for bagging a younger woman. They also told him the relationship wouldn’t last.
Allison said: ‘Ben’s family was very accepting of me – they were glad to see him happy.
‘My sister was only 13 when she met Ben, but she always approved of our relationship and supported us. Some of our friends had different reactions, they were surprised by the age gap.’
Negative reactions will not and have not stopped them from sharing their lives together – and now they hope to encourage others to follow their hearts.
‘We were both consenting adults, so we didn’t see a problem with our age gap,’ Alison said.
‘We knew other people may not accept our relationship, but we felt such a natural connection — we didn’t want to be apart.
‘If you truly love each other don’t let the outside noise stop you from exploring your relationship.’
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