Ten years ago, when I became a single mother, I placed everything concerning love to the side and focused entirely on raising my child. Romance was a closed chapter. My heart had been let down enough times, and frankly, I haven’t exactly been the luckiest when it comes to finding a man worthy of loving forever. That reality only cemented my decision to stay single. Life was simpler that way.
And then I started talking to this man.
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP CHANNEL TO RECEIVE ALL STORIES IN YOUR INBOX
He is proving to be very noble in a way that catches me off guard. Recently we were casually talking about age, and I had to come to terms with the fact that he is younger than I am. He is 34 years old, which makes him a full six years younger than me.
I am genuinely surprised at the way my heart reacts to him. Unlike the other men from my past, I think about this one all the time. When his thought crosses my mind, I get butterflies. Yes, actual butterflies. At my big age. For a man who is younger than me, a man who could probably be my younger brother.
I told him that nothing can happen between us. But he is not taking no for an answer. “Who cares what people will say,” he keeps telling me. And he says it in a way that makes so much sense it unsettles me. His argument is solid enough to let me think about us properly. Our future and all of that. He looks ready for a full commitment down the line, and he seems like a better man than the older men I dated years ago. He communicates. He honours me with respect, and he extends that same respect to my child.
The concern, of course, is whether he is here for something else. Maybe for money, maybe for an experience, maybe just a story to tell his friends about what it is like to be with an older woman. But his seriousness feels real, and that is both scaring and soothing me in equal measure.
I Called My Girlfriend And Another Man Answered The Phone
I am thinking of taking the bull by its horns. Seeing where this leads us. But before I do, I want to hear exactly what it might look like. How does it look for women who have married men younger than them? Was it a terrible decision you made?
Is it okay, truly okay, to even think of dating, let alone marrying, a man who is six years younger than you? More than anything, I am super scared. Scared of all of this. But I am trying to do it scared anyway.
—Maya
This story you just read was sent to us by someone just like you. We know you have a story too. Email it to us at [email protected]. You can also drop your number and we will call you so you tell us your story.
#SB<>