I’m 28 but my man is 70 so everyone assumes he’s my grandad – trolls constantly slam me as a gold digger but it’s love
A WOMAN married to a man 42 years her senior is adamant that age is just a number when it comes to love – and assured that she isn’t a gold digger.
Jackie Epstein was just 21-years-old when she met her husband David, 70, on a dating site.
Fast forward seven years, she is 28-years-old and has been married to her mature man for five years.
David is older than Jackie’s parents, but her family aren’t phased by that.
The couple, who live in California, don’t see their four decade age gap as an issue and are experts at brushing off negative opinions – including people describing their relationship as “wrong on so many levels”.
“I won’t regret marrying Dave because he’s a really nice guy,” Jackie tells Truly.
“He loves me, he respects me. He’s the best.
“With the age gap, I don’t have any problem at all.”
The pair met in 2016 when David was travelling in Jackie’s native country of the Philippines.
They went on several dates before David returned to the US. But besotted and desperate to see her again, he returned to propose a few months later.
Seven years later, the pair keep the magic alive by staying affectionate, laughing with each other and creating TikTok videos as a couple.
“Last year, we decided to upload more videos of us together,” Jackie says.
“It’s to inspire other people who are in age gap relationships.”
But the exposure has opened them up to trolls who dub Jackie a “gold digger”, assume David is her sugar daddy and believe their relationship is “wrong”.
Some even mistake him for her grandad.
“I’m not really that affected because it’s not true,” Jackie says.
“I know myself that I’m not a gold digger.”
David is retired and pays most of the bills, while Jackie works in a local shop to send money back home to her family in the Philippines.
“If two people love each other, if they want to go through life together, age is just a number,” says David.
“Something great happened to Jackie and I. We found each other despite long odds against that happening.”
While trolls are unavoidable for the pair, they assured that the response to their relationship on social media has been largely positive.