A 25-year-old woman with a 58-year-old boyfriend has spoken out about their 'happy and healthy' relationship after being called 'disgusting' and a 'gold-digger'.
Amanda Harper and Jay Horsky, from California, met on Plenty of Fish three years ago and have since been 'inseparable'. However, despite the couple being sickeningly happy about the whole situation, they've been met with nasty comments and dirty looks from strangers, both online and in real life.
Amanda, who says she is regularly mistaken for Jay's daughter, said she was drawn to her other half because of his 'silver hair' and 'intense eyes'. We can only imagine what attracted the 58-year-old to the pretty blonde in her 20s...
Amanda and Jay have been together three years. Credit: Caters
Advert
Jay told Amanda about his passion for building Halloween props and rather than run a mile over such a weird pastime, the couple decided to turn it into a business and opened up their own haunted house attraction, which, I'm not going to lie, I'm a bit jealous about.
Amanda says she's received abuse online and in real life, and has lost friends. Imagine being that arsed about someone else's relationship. As long as they're happy and not hurting anyone else, what's the big deal?
Advert
The couple are now hoping to show others that age is just a number.
Amanda said: "We're hoping to change people's minds one day at a time by showing how great we are together.
"It's annoying having to defend our love, but it's only typically people in unhappy or toxic relationships who struggle to understand.
"I lost one friend because I was dating Jay. He didn't like my relationship based on the age gap - and called me 'disgusting', 'a horrible person', 'gold digger' and more.
Advert
"I don't understand why I get called nasty things for being in a happy and healthy relationship, it just blows my mind.
"Normally people who work up the courage to ask, 'Is he your dad?', which is a conversation starter. I then proudly say, 'he's my boyfriend'.
Jay when he was 27 - Amanda wasn't born when this was taken. Credit: Caters
Advert
"Even in pictures of us, you can often see people's shocked or disapproving faces in the background, but we don't let it get to us and still remain happy. You get the evil eyes and daggered looks but I would say we have more positive feedback than anything."
Amanda says she's always fancied older fellas, but this is the first time she's felt comfortable enough to go public with an age-gap relationship.
She said: "I have always been attracted to older men, but Jay specifically caught my eye. I felt like when I was talking, he was paying full attention to me as a person. He seemed genuine as soon as I met him and I knew I wanted to see a lot more of him.
"He's so smart and no matter what situation we are in he seems to know what to do better than anyone else. He just takes control of a situation.
"For me, men under 40 are just too young. When my friends point out someone young and attractive I have to ask them what shirt they are wearing because I can't see it.
"I only register men with grey hair. In the same way that certain people only like redheads or blondes, I love greying hair."
Good for you, Amanda.
Featured Image Credit: CatersTopics: Relationships, Interesting