A woman with a boyfriend 31 years older than her revealed her parents had to speak to a professional as they thought they were to blame for her connection with an older man
A woman has revealed her parents were so concerned about her new boyfriend they turned to a therapist.
23-year-old Veronica “got butterflies” the first time she saw 54-year-old Samuele on a work call – and said the pair instantly hit it off.
After meeting for the first time in person, they knew there was an instant connection, but Veronica’s parents were so worried about their daughter’s older boyfriend that they thought they were to blame.
With 31 years between the pair, Veronica’s parents were left confused, especially as her mum is younger than her boyfriend. She revealed her distraught parents even went and sought advice from a counsellor to see if their parenting had led to their daughter having a boyfriend much older than her.
When she first started dating Samuele, Veronica shared how tough it was to get her parents on board. She said: “My parents were perhaps the biggest challenge. At first, they were shocked and incredulous.
“They couldn’t understand how I, so young, could fall in love with a man so different in age and life experiences. There were heated arguments, nights of silence, and tears. As often happens in such cases, it’s normal to feel some initial shock and to need time to process the situation.”
She revealed they did some online research to help them understand the dynamics and “even wondered if this choice might be tied to a lack of affection on their part.” Veronica added: “They also consulted forums with psychologists. But they never tried to stop me from seeing him, and within a few weeks, they began to see things differently, especially after meeting Sam.
“They saw and understood the genuine feelings and deep connection between us,” and said over time their perspective changed. Now they both accept Samuele, who is divorced from his former partner – and now support him.
She said: “We travel together, have family dinners, and share moments of joy as a family,” but it wasn’t just her parents who were wary of the relationship. The pair also faced cruel comments from strangers and online trolls, who made their opinions clear.
“The looks, the comments, the judgments have been with us from the very beginning. To the haters, we always respond the same way – happiness has no age, and love cannot be measured by other people’s opinions. Many people use social media to vent their own unhappiness and spread negativity.”
Some of the comments were from people telling Veronica she had “daddy issues” or slamming her for only being with him for his money. She added: “Those were difficult moments, but we wanted to be a source of support for people – both men and women – who were in similar relationships.
“Since then, we’ve received messages every day from people living through stories like ours. Many write to us because they are keeping their relationships hidden from their parents or families and are looking for advice. They thank us for giving them the strength to believe in their own love stories.”
Veronica and Samuele both work in digital communications and first got chatting on a professional call, which is what changed their lives forever as it was clear there was a “special connection”.
She said: “That call, initially formal, soon turned into something more. It wasn’t just professional dialogue flowing effortlessly – there was a special connection, a natural understanding I had never experienced. Working together on several projects brought us closer and closer.
“We would talk for hours, discovering shared tastes, similar ways of thinking, and a vision of life that seemed almost perfectly aligned. In no time, we realised how deep this connection was, it felt as if we shared the same emotions, the same mind.”
The couple, both from Italy, decided to meet up after chatting for a while, as Veronica said the “curiosity and desires to meet in person were too strong to ignore” and knew instantly when they saw eachother for the first time their feelings behind a screen weren’t just from their imagination.
“The physical connection was just as powerful as the mental and spiritual one. It was love, pure and simple, born without any force or pressure,” Veronica noted.
The couple have sinced moved in together and have learned to “protect” their love, ignoring those who don’t understand.
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