There was an ‘instant spark’ when grandma Christine Haycox met Hamza Dridi online in 2018. Two years later, the pair married in his home in Tunisia and are now celebrating their seventh anniversary
A 74-year-old grandmother, Christine Haycox, has proven naysayers wrong by celebrating her fourth wedding anniversary with her Tunisian beau, despite doubts that he was only “just in it for the money”. The couple’s love story began when Christine started teaching English to Hamza Dridi, 40, online back in 2018.
Swept up in a whirlwind romance, Christine flew out to Hammamet, Tunisia, merely six weeks after they met online and she’s called it home ever since. The couple exchanged vows in December 2020 at their abode in Tunisia, and have made a life there for the past seven years, with Christine converting to Islam in 2021.
Despite initial wariness from friends about Hamza’s intentions, her children have always been supportive – and now friends too have come around to celebrate their love. Now, having marked four years of matrimony, Christine, from Leeds, Yorkshire, says, “I haven’t got a single regret.”
But the two, who say it was “definitely love at first sight,” do feel remorseful over not having met earlier so they could have started their own family. Instead, they dote on their pet dog.
Hamza, meanwhile, echoes his wife’s sentiments, affectionately expressing, “Christine is a lovely wife. She is my queen.”
He adds, “I love her personality and her intelligence.” Before finding love with Hamza, Christine’s previous marriage lasted over three decades until her divorce in April 2003. She is the mother of a 44-year-old son and a 39-year-old daughter, with the joy of being a grandmother to two, ages 18 and 18 months.
The beginning of Christine and Hamza’s unique journey traces back to a Facebook ad she posted, offering English language lessons to foreigners. Hamza reached out to Christine, who happens to be a fluent French speaker, and signed up for her online lessons.
Christine revealed: “There was an instant spark between us.” And just three months later, she booked a trip to Tunisia to meet Hamza face-to-face.
During their time together, Christine said: “We went for walks along the beach and he took me out for lovely dinners.” She added: “He even took me to a discotheque, and we went dancing.”
Her son, who is four years older than Hamza, even visited Tunisia in 2020 to spend time with the couple after their wedding – a low-key affair held on December 31, 2020, at Hamza’s family home in Manouba, Tunisia. For the ceremony, Christine embraced tradition by wearing a Tunisian dress, while Hamza’s second cousin Miriam, who was 17, looked after her hair, manicure and pedicure for her special day.
The pair explained they “never bothered with getting engaged”, opting to go straight to marriage instead. Christine disclosed: “We took so long to marry because it took two years to get all of the paperwork from England.” Barring two brief visits to England, Christine has spent the past seven years living in Tunisia.
She has noted that despite their considerable age difference and the fact they come from different parts of the world, her family has been nothing but supportive. Christine shared: “They can see how happy I am. My friends have been amazing. Hamza speaks to my friends all the time, so they can see how good we are together.”
Reaffirming her contentment, Christine stated: “Hamza and I have our own home together and I’ve never been happier.” The gran revealed that she and Hamza maintain an active sex life, with him taking on most of the household chores. She declared: “He’s a hot-blooded Tunisian – we have sex more than most.”
Despite needing a hip replacement, Christine insists her age doesn’t hinder their bedroom activities. However, their relationship has been met with significant online backlash after they shared their story on Facebook. Christine disclosed: “We’ve had some horrible emails and Facebook messages.”
Critics suggest Hamza is only interested in her money or a visa, to which Christine responds: “People say ‘he wants your money’ but I don’t have lots of money because I am just an ordinary teacher and that ‘he wants a visa’ – but he is so family-orientated, he would never have moved away from them.”
One woman even went as far as contacting Christine’s son to predict the marriage wouldn’t last. According to Christine, it’s mainly people in the UK who have objected to their relationship. She expressed: “People in Tunisia are so wonderful to me. I love the family culture, the helpfulness and the friendliness of the people.”
However, there was one incident in Tunisia where a restaurant owner rudely asked Hamza: “How do you have sex with that old woman?”. Christine said this left Hamza “mortified”, but the man later apologised and treated them to dinner and drinks. The couple’s future plans involve obtaining a visa for Hamza to visit the UK and meet Christine’s family. Their long-term goal is to relocate to the UK due to Christine’s need for medical treatments which are not easily accessible in Tunisia.