Woman who has 19-year age gap with husband explains what her parents think about relationship

This model has a relationship with a man that is almost 20 years older than her and as you can imagine, her parents had something to say about it.

Just 28, Emily Downing met her significant other following a yoga class in 2018, before sealing the deal in November 2023.

Based in Los Angeles, USA, the happy couple even have a TikTok account where they share aspects of their life to their thousands of followers.

Emily's partner, 47-year-old Michael Stomatuk, was drawn to her 'natural beauty' and skills in the studio, prompting him to ask for her phone number.

The couple have been married since last year. (Instagram/em_stomatuk)

He was the first to make a move with a compliment about her yoga practice, and despite both admitting that they got on like a house on fire from the get go, Emily, who would have been 22 at the time, said that she was wary of the gap in age between the two, according to The Sun.

After some time though, she swapped numbers with Michael, who was then 41.

He found that she was easy to get along with and sweet, while she also thought that he had a decent sense of humour.

Michael admitted that they 'knew there was a connection' but that due to a previous relationship of his and the looming age gap, they both didn't dive head-on into the prospect of a serious relationship.

But, as expected, Emily's parents had a strong opinion on the relationship, and when she announced their news to them, they were not pleased.

She explained how they felt after they met for the first time: "My parents were concerned."

Emily's parents were 'concerned' with her decision. (Instagram/em_stomatuk)

Emily further explained: “But there was one thing my dad said to me when he found out I was still seeing Michael,

“He said, ‘I raised you better than this’. It was a dagger to the heart.”

According to Michael, they had been friends for a year and slowly moved towards a relationship, as they realised that their levels of maturity were similar.

As the pandemic hit though, they became a serious couple, and her parents have not had any issues with the relationship since.

To get there though, Emily admitted that she had to 'train some of the f*** boy out of him'.

Their first date consisted of them walking the model's dog around the area, talking for more than three hours.

Michael and Emily built on their initial strong physical and emotional attraction before going serious in 2020, announcing it to friends and family.

The pair have been married since last year.