Almeda Hardwick was grieving the loss of her son at the age of 71. She saw Gary Hardwich, who was 17 at the time, and now six years later, they're celebrating their relationship and sharing a montage of romantic snaps together.
Gary, who was younger than one of Almeda's grandsons, was fresh from a relationship with another elderly woman who was 77 when she met Almeda.
His wife described him as a man who was "really mature for his age." Gary's mom, 48, gave her blessing and the couple also met his grandmother, Carolyn, who was the same age as Almeda.
Gary proposed to the woman two weeks after they began seeing each other and tied the knot in the same year on October 26, right after Gary turned 18.
The couple has remained married to this day, often sharing things they've gone through, including that one time Almeda suffered a heart attack that gave them a real scare. Gary, who shared the montage on their TikTok page, wrote in the caption, "So many more wonderful years to come."
The 53-year age gap between them made their relationship a rather unusual sight for skeptics.
The couple also maintained an OnlyFans page where Gary shared pictures from their couple photoshoot. They've also shared that their sex life was as active as ever.
Speaking of her past relationship, Almeda did not recall many flirty moments back then and spoke, "I was married for 43 years and there wasn't a lot of kissy, huggy stuff going on… no romance."
In stark contrast, the mom-of-four continued, "[My current relationship] it's a whirlwind."
"We are always complimenting [each other] and kissing. We're enjoying our relationship. When you meet that perfect one, that's when you know you don't want to lose that feeling."
Gary, who's shared over 300 videos on their TikTok page, often complimented and praised his wife. He's also seen singing love songs and showing gestures of love to the woman.
On one of his posts on Valentine's Day, he wrote, "I celebrate our love and thank God for sending me my angel, my soulmate each and everyday."
"You are such an amazing wife in every single way. You support me in everything I do, you show me unconditional love everyday and you always make me laugh and smile no matter what. You are truly the best my love. Thank you for everything you do baby. I am forever grateful to be your husband."
Gary also explained that he's "never been attracted to younger women." He continued, "Even when I was 13 or 14, I've always had an attraction to older women and when I told my grandmother, who raised me, I didn't know how she would take it but she accepted us."
As such, when asked about his marriage, Gary's answer was as expected: he was happy.
After describing Almeda as a "wonderful lover," Gary added, "I never feel as though I'm missing out on anything by being married to Almeda."
