A teenager has spoken about what it's like dating a man nearly 30 years her senior, having met her tennis coach boyfriend while playing the sport with his daughter.
Natalie Noble, 19, met Bobby Lindsey, 48, back in 2015 when she joined his tennis team, and are now going strong despite their significant age gap.
Natalie said things were strictly platonic at first, but turned romantic when she left for university.
She said: "Bobby and I first met in 2015 when he became my tennis coach. It was my first year playing tennis, his daughter was also on the team and he was the coach.
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"Obviously at the start there wasn't any form of romantic relationship, we were purely a coach and a tennis student."
Natalie said she and Bobby were both 'in denial' about their true feelings, saying: "We just kept saying that we were just friends because we were so terrified of the idea of admitting our feelings."
But they began to spend more time together, and eventually decided to start dating officially last year.
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Natalie admitted they were 'terrified', but couldn't stay away from each other.
She said: "We kept it a secret for a while because of being so scared of how we would be judged. I think I have always kind of had an attraction to older men. I am super mature for my age so I can't really connect with guys my age."
The couple, from Kentucky in the US, now have their own YouTube channel, where they regularly post about their relationship and share advice with others in the same situation.
But despite feeling proud of their romance, Natalie and Bobby's families haven't been quite so accepting - with Natalie's mum accusing Bobby of 'taking' her daughter's youth.
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Natalie said: "My parents tried to put us through hell to break us up, but it just made us closer as we only had each other."
She explained that her mum and dad still haven't accepted the relationship, but now 'tolerate it' because they know it makes her happy.
"It made me not care as much about what people think and it has taught me self-love," Natalie said.
"I hope and pray that one day they will be fine with the relationship, but we still aren't there."
Natalie also explained that Bobby's daughters - who are of a similar age to her - aren't happy with the arrangement either, but said this has only made them closer as a couple.
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"I love being in our age gap relationship because I have an older heart and Bobby has a younger heart," she said.
Natalie added: "We know it is not the most conventional relationship, but we are happy and in love and that's the main thing."
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Topics: News, Dating, Relationships, US News