Creeping out the front door, Keshia King closes it as quietly as she can.
That’s because she’s sneaking out to meet a man almost 30 years her senior – and six years older than her mother, who she’s sure will disapprove.
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Keshia, 31, from Rochester, Kent, has kept her boyfriend Ian Lugrin, 58, a secret since the pair met on Bumble BFF, the dating app’s friend-making service.
She says: “Whenever my mother asked where I was going, I told her I was going out with a friend.
“Once a week, Ian and I always made a point of venturing out of the area to avoid being seen.”
Their friendship turned into romance and three years later they fell in love after their relationship ended.
I felt guilty for hiding Ian all this time, but I just wanted everyone to love him like I did.
Keshia
But 27 years apart, Keshia kept Ian a secret and for three years lived a double life, hiding him from her family, even when they started living together.
Keshia has since revealed her romance and claims she is happier than ever, insisting age is just a number.
The mobile manicurist says: “Ian and I faced a lot of obstacles, but it was worth it.
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“I felt guilty for hiding Ian all this time, but I just wanted everyone to love him like I did.
“I hope others know to never judge a book by its cover. Ian is the best thing that ever happened to me.”
In 2017, Keshia, then 24, was living with her mother in Kent and joined ‘Bumble BFF’, which helped match people who wanted to make friends.
She says, “But after being laid off, I moved to Rochester that year to live with my mother.
“I was new to the area and felt alone, so I joined Bumble BFF hoping to make new friends.
“I didn’t establish an age group because it didn’t matter to me, and days later I agreed with Ian.
“His profile stated he was 52 years old and lived 150 miles away in Bournemouth.
“We had messages and Ian said he wanted company after things weren’t going well in his marriage.
“It was lovely talking to him, especially as he had more life experience at his age.
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“He and his wife had been together for 15 years and it was ending.
“He was a lovely, charismatic guy and I considered him a good companion.”
Over the years, Ian, a builder, confided in Keshia about his life, while Keshia found a boyfriend her own age.
Every few months they would meet up between Kent and Bournemouth to chat over coffee.
But in 2020, after three years, their relationship ended and Ian moved to Kent.
Keshia says: “He wanted to start again and I was already a familiar face there.
“We went for drinks, dinner and a night out. Ian was so funny and witty.
“I realized I was falling in love with him and one night we both confessed our feelings.
Whenever Mom wanted to visit me, I would panic. I would tell Ian to show up and he supported me, telling me whenever I was ready to tell her everything would be okay
Keshia
“Even though Ian was 27 years older than me, I didn’t mind. Our connection was undeniable.”
The two became a couple, but Keshia was worried about her mother’s reaction.
Keshia says: “I decided to keep us a secret from my family because I was afraid they wouldn’t approve of the age difference.
“I didn’t know what would happen, but there was no point bothering everyone if it didn’t work out anyway.”
The following year, in 2021, Keshia and Ian were stronger than ever and moved into their own home.
Still afraid to confess everything to her mother, Keshia said she was going to live alone.
Although my family was left in the dark, Ian eventually told his children. To our relief, they were very kind and understanding
Keshia
Keshia says “Whenever my mother wanted to visit me, I would panic. I would tell Ian to show up and he would support me, telling me whenever I was ready to tell her that everything would be okay.
“He would run away and I would hide his belongings around the house.
“For years I lived a double life and it got hard, but the longer I let it go, the harder it got.
“Although my family was left in the dark, Ian eventually told his children. To our relief, they were very kind and understanding.
“His youngest son was five years younger than me, but we got along really well. He said he was happy for his father.
“My friends were lovely to us too, and Ian’s friends joked that he was Mr. Lucky.
“It made me realize how age was just a number and I knew for sure that Ian was the love of my life.”
But soon the couple began receiving stares and comments from strangers whenever they went out in public.
Keshia says: “Shopkeepers would ask if my father needed a bag in the food boxes.
“One time we were dancing in a nightclub and a man told me that Ian was old enough to be my father. I told him to mind his own business.
Huge Age Gap Relationships That Have Withstood the Test of Time
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The director and actor met at a screen test in 2009 and married in 2012. The couple share two daughters and Sam has two sons from a previous marriage. - Rosie-Huntington-Whiteley and Jason Statham – 20 years
The model began dating actor Jason in 2010. They married in 2016 and have since welcomed a son and a daughter. - Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas – 25 years old
The pair were introduced at a film festival in 1996 and engaged three years later. Shortly after their engagement, the couple welcomed a son and married in 2000.
“Sometimes strangers also called me a gold digger.
“It was annoying, but we tried not to let it bother us.”
In 2023, after three years of secrecy, Keshia found the courage to tell her family about Ian.
Keshia says: “I told my mother that I was hiding my boyfriend and that we were living together.
“I said he was six years older than her and, as I feared, my mother was upset.
“She worried that he was too old for me and what would happen if I wanted to have children later in life.
“But I explained that no one knows what the future holds and how much I loved him.
“Everyone in the family had a hard time understanding this, especially because I lied for so long.
“Eventually, I took Ian to my family’s house and they met face to face. It was very cold and they were not that welcoming.
“But my dad, who lived in Telford, loved Ian. They talked all day about cars, construction and DIY.”
Keshia hopes that one day her family will learn to accept her relationship.
“I’m now 31 and Ian is 58. He’s so mature and independent, something I would never get from someone my age,” she says.
“I know that someday in the future my family will love Ian just like my father did.
“But after everything we’ve been through, Ian was worth it.
“I would say to anyone considering an older or younger partner to go for it. Life is too short.”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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