All Age Gaps Wide And Wonderful, The Lord God Loves Them All: A Christian Couple With A Difference Of Thirty-Two Years Who Were Engaged Within Three Weeks

By Liana Jacob

THIS BRITISH couple embarked on a whirlwind romance and got engaged just THREE-WEEKS after they first met and MARRIED the same year despite their THIRTY-TWO-YEAR AGE GAP.

Public service graduate and support worker, Charity Wilson (40) from Cheshire, UK, first met part-time chemistry teacher and author, David (72) seven years ago at a Christian group event.

He fell in love with her at first sight and asked her out but as she was not looking for a relationship at the time, Charity didn’t take it seriously.

After just three weeks of dating, Charity realised that she was in love with David and he casually proposed to her and she happily agreed.

Within the space of eight months, they got married and they have been loved up ever since. Charity has two daughters from a previous relationship, and they call David their ‘dad’.

While they have received countless stares from strangers due to their age gap, the couple have never been fazed and feel stronger together after conquering many challenges together.

“I wasn’t even looking for love, but we became friends and I fell in love. I wasn’t expecting him to ask me out, so when he did, it was quite a shock,” Charity said.

“What drew me to him was his personality and just looking at how handsome he is. We share the same faith and we have a lot in common due to our Christian faith, so that played a very important role.

“But it’s not just because he’s Christian, otherwise I could have dated anyone from that event, but it was also his character and the way he handles himself – he’s a real gentleman.

“People ask me about our age gap, but you have to keep reminding me how old he is, for me it doesn’t even click in my mind, maybe when we are asked about our date of birth and that’s when I’m reminded.

“But on a day-to-day basis it doesn’t really play any part in our relationship – he’s my husband and someone I fell in love with and that I’m married to. That’s it.

“I’m very traditional, so David proposed, and I expected it because we both knew as soon as we got into a relationship that it was meaningful, so I saw it coming.

“He just said ‘are you going to marry me then’ while giving me a ring and I said ‘yes, of course I will marry you’.

“I demanded that he proposed because it was always my dream for someone to go down on one knee and propose.

“We went on top of a hill and had a picnic where he did it. When you know, you know. Some people date for twelve years and then they don’t end up getting married.

“All couples have struggles, it’s not all a walk in the park, you have to invest in your marriage, you have to compromise and communicate well.

“In 2018 we lost a lot of money and shares and that really caused a strain, as it would because we needed to prioritise the way we had to live.

“But it just showed that we are stronger together and because even if we came to a point where we became homeless, as long as we got each other we can survive anything.”

Charity says that they have received nothing but support from their families and her mum was charmed by David’s ‘lovely’ personality.

They have had a discussion about their future together and how their age gap may affect it, but according to Charity, she is not worried.

“Our families were surprisingly very supportive; my family, who all live in South Africa, when I told them about the age gap, they were OK with it,” she said.

“The most important thing for them is that we both share the same faith, especially when you have to bring your children up with the same principles.

“He was kind and they spoke to each other on the phone before they met, and they realised that he was a lovely person and that was always the most important thing for my mum.

“David came into my daughters’ lives when they were very young, so they only know him as a dad. They know their biological dad, but he did not bother with them.

“They call him by his first name and call David ‘dad’. As far as we are concerned David is their dad and as far as he is concerned, he is their dad.

“When we go to restaurants or on holiday, we have time off while someone looks after our kids, plenty would stare at first, especially when the girls aren’t there.

“When they see me, it’s not just the age, it’s also the fact that I’m black, we get stares. But when we are with the girls, we do look like a family together.

“I’m just very easy going, I just take life as it comes because I look at people the way God looks at them. People die at the age of twenty, I could go first.

“We’ve had this discussion before and he was like ‘the time will come when I’m not here’, and I was like how do you know? I could go first. No one knows.

“He doesn’t look his age, he looks after himself, he’s just my husband and we do things together; we go for walks together, I cook organic food to feed my whole family and that plays an important part.

“We shouldn’t judge people; whether it’s race or with sexism and we can’t judge people by their age – it’s ridiculous.

“You can find a twenty-one-year-old who is so mature and very responsible, or you can find a seventy-two-year-old who acts like a seventeen-year-old.

“We have to take people as they are. The most important thing in a relationship is trust and unconditional love not based on anything.”