A woman has admitted she finds it funny people think her boyfriend, who is 27 years younger than her, is her son – even though he’s the same age as her real one
A couple who fell head over heels in love after meeting on Tinder last year have told how their 27-year age gap has led to them often being mistaken for mother and son.
With many people believing Mickey Swearingon, 23, and Cherie Salinas, 50, from Katy, Texas, are relatives rather than romantically involved, the situation has been ignited further by the fact Cherie’s son is the same age as her boyfriend.
However the couple have revealed they don’t take offense, instead finding the comments funny: “I honestly don’t know how to reply when people say she’s my mum,” said Mickey. “It’s such a grey area and it’s all about proving things to people about our relationship.”
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The pair met online in April last year after Cherie’s husband passed away, with the widow deciding to try dating younger men. And while Mickey admitted to always being attracted to older women, he said he had never found someone he had clicked with as much as Cherie.
He said: “When I first saw her, all I could think about was how beautiful she was. She was just so perfect. I’ve never had a serious relationship from Tinder, but we had our first date and just haven’t left each other’s side since.”
Cherie said of the situation: “After my husband passed away, it took me some time to decide to date again, and I realised I was attracted to younger guys. Mickey was just so adorable when I spoke to him before the date. I couldn’t wait to meet him. He was just what I needed at that point.”
With the couple both admitting to ‘love at first sight’, they became inseparable after their first date, choosing to be open with their respective families soon afterward.
And while Mickey’s mother was worried about the age gap to begin with, after spending time with Cherie she is now fully supportive of their relationship: “When she met Cherie, she could see how happy we were and she just warmed to her straight away,” he said.
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Cherie admitted that her family had also been super supportive, which included her son, who is the same age as her boyfriend: “My son has met him and they get along very well,” she said. “A lot of my family haven’t met Mickey, but they’re supportive and just happy because I’m happy.”
With so much stigma around the age gap, she said: “We just love being together, no matter what people say.”
Mickey agreed, commenting: “People have such a misconception about age gap relationships, they think that there must be something weird going on, but I just like the maturity level that comes with it. When we do get hate online we just brush it off, we’re happy really and nothing is going to get in the way of that.”
