Lexsy and John are getting married this month. Lexsy McKowen / MDWfeatures

By Rebecca Drew

 

THIS 22-YEAR-OLD woman who is infatuated with older men is going to become stepmother to three adult children after she marries her partner who is TWENTY-NINE-YEARS her senior.

 

Actress, Lexsy McKowen (22) met her fiancĂ©, makeup artist and actor, John AvilĂ©s (51) on a television set where she was an extra and John was doing the cast’s makeup in April, last year.

Lexsy and John.
Lexsy McKowen / MDWfeatures

 

Metalhead John was wearing a long black leather coat that instantly caught Lexsy’s eye and sparked a conversation between them and they discovered a mutual love for comic books, horror and music.

 

After filming, the pair would stay in the carpark talking until the early hours. The pair who live together in San Diego, California, USA, have a 29-year-age-gap but this was never an issue for Lexsy as she has always been attracted to older men like Jeff Goldblum and Slash when her friends were into Justin Bieber.

John and Lexsy.
Lexsy McKowen / MDWfeatures

 

However, John found the age difference difficult at first as he had never dated anyone so young and his three children from a previous relationship are all a similar age to Lexsy at 20, 21 and 25. Both families were dubious of the relationship at first but have since grown to accept it.

 

“I met him on my first set which I was wasn’t going to go to because it was in a sketchy part of the city but I went anyway. He was the makeup artist that night and I was just a featured extra,” said Lexsy.

Lexsy and John.
Lexsy McKowen / MDWfeatures

 

“He wears this really cool black leather long coat and so my first words to him were; ‘Hey, I like your coat,’ and he, to my surprise said thank you really sweetly.

 

“He has this metalhead look to him and I was expecting him to be an asshole, but he was the sweetest nerdiest guy I’d ever met. We talked comic books and metal during set and then after we had wrapped we stayed in the parking lot until four am just talking about everything.

John and Lexsy.
Lexsy McKowen / MDWfeatures

 

“He was an older guy so that was great for me since I’ve always liked dating older than me, but I had just got out of a three-year relationship and I told myself I won’t date for like five years.

 

“I fought myself for a month to not fall in love again. Obviously, that didn’t work out and I’m really happy I fell in love with him.

Lexsy and John bonded over their shared love of metal.
Lexsy McKowen / MDWfeatures

 

“Our age gap is twenty-nine-years. For me, it wasn’t a problem. I had dated an older man previously and I’d always been infatuated with older men when I was younger.

 

“Kids were crushing on Justin Bieber and Jesse McCartney and I loved Johnny Depp, Jeff Goldblum and Slash, so for me it was natural.”

John and Lexsy. Lexsy McKowen / MDWfeatures

 

John spoke about how he fell in love with Lexsy, he also discussed how working in the arts has sometimes put a financial strain on their relationship due to unstructured work patterns.

 

“Well we’re both haunt actors and love comic books, as well as heavy metal, so those were big factors for us. Plus, in our first encounter, we talked for something like three hours, and after that I couldn’t stop thinking about her,” he said.

John and Lexsy.
Lexsy McKowen / MDWfeatures

 

“The age gap was a little tough for me, only because I never dated someone with this much of an age split, but I wouldn’t change this for anything.

 

“Both of our families were hesitant. I think more on my side than hers, however my mum came around to it when she saw how we interact with each other, and that she wasn’t a frivolous, flighty, type of a person.

Lexsy and John.
Lexsy McKowen / MDWfeatures

 

“I think the most difficult thing in our relationship is that we’re both in the arts and that makes things really tight financially for us. I know I’ve had to come a long way due to some very hard times, but we kind of work together through these things.”

 

John and Lexsy are excitedly getting ready for their wedding at the end of the month and are looking to move to LA.

Lexsy and John.
Lexsy McKowen / MDWfeatures

 

Although, marrying John means that Lexsy will technically be his children’s step mum, this isn’t a label she wants to be known by.

 

Lexsy hit back at people who might not agree with their age gap and said their relationship is the same as everyone else’s.

 

“We are going to move to LA to hit the ground running on our careers in acting and makeup,” said Lexsy.

 

“We have talked about kids and I would like to have just one kid.

 

“Since I’m marrying him I’m technically his children’s step mum, but I just want to be called by my name and they already have a mum. I feel uncomfortable calling myself their step mum since they are grown adults.

Lexsy and John.
Lexsy McKowen / MDWfeatures

 

“Our relationship is a big norm in the film industry and has been for decades. It’s not out of the ordinary if you really think about it.

 

“Our relationship is just like everyone else’s. The only time our relationship is different is on outward appearance. We don’t see each other’s ages.

 

“We have fights, we struggle with money, we go on fun dates or stay in and watch Law and Order in our pyjamas. We are just as normal as anyone else.

 

“Rarely people ask if I’m his daughter but most of the time we’ve been lucky with people calling me his girlfriend or sometimes his wife.”

The couple bonded over their shared love for metal and comic books.
Lexsy McKowen / MDWfeatures

 

For more information see www.instagram.com/lexsylove