A Texan woman has found love with a man 21 years her junior after claiming she believes older gents to be ‘rigid’.
Mother-of-four Michelle Rinella said there was an ‘instant attraction’ between herself and Brandon Graham - a truck driver and certified personal trainer.
Before meeting her now-husband, the 54-year-old had previously been married to a man 11 years her senior.
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However, speaking about her past dating experience with older men, the woman quipped: "They couldn't keep up with me. They were just boring."
After taking some time out from hunting for love, Rinella met Graham, now 33, in September 2019.
However, she admitted she wasn’t initially ‘hopeful’ about the relationship.
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“At first, I don't think I was very hopeful about it given the age gap. He messaged me. I opened it and thought to myself, ‘Another 20-something. Why do they keep messaging me?’” she explained.
“Then I looked at his picture and thought, ‘Maybe a quick hello wouldn't hurt!’
“I sent him a message that said ‘How old are you?’ and he replied ‘Old enough to make you happy’. He was right.”
After linking up with Graham, the Plano native claimed that the sexual attraction between them felt like ‘fire’.
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She also admitted that she found him ‘more handsome’ in real life compared to his photographs.
“But then there was this emotional attraction,” the psychologist continued.
“He came with a level of vulnerability that I wasn't used to. Older men were just more rigid and they didn't need anything from a relationship.”
She also said that while she sees Graham as ‘young’ and ‘beautiful’ he sees her as ‘wise’, ‘established’ and ‘attractive’.
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After two years of dating - which Rinella claimed felt like ‘fresh air' - she and the father-of-one eventually tied the knot.
The lavish wedding ceremony was held outdoors, featured fireworks and saw the pair departing by boat across a lake.
Now, the pair spend most of their time working, eating dinner together and looking after Graham’s 13-year-old son.
Opening up about judgement, Rinella claimed she and her husband’s passion is ‘fuelled’ by negative comments.
She explained: “It makes us passionate about fighting for our relationship. It's nice to be out just because he's so handsome.
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“We walk in the room and it's like the screeching of a record sound. The whole room goes quiet. People are looking. It used to really bother me.”
She continued to say that her spouse made her understand that ‘people were going to look’ and that there was ‘no benefit’ of making the worst out of the situation.
“Maybe people are looking at us because we're a good looking couple,” Rinella quipped.
“If not, maybe they just don't know what it's like to really feel like this.”
Due to their age difference, the Texan tries not to think about what she and her husband will look like in the future.
“Right now we're 20 years apart but we're in the same part of our lives. The big thing is that in 20 years, I'll be 75 and he'll be 55.”
She added that she still wonders if she could trust Graham to ‘take care’ of her when she becomes elderly.
“The thought of that is hard as we'll be at different parts of our lives.”
“I'll be elderly and he'll still be young enough to be healthy but I just can't get stuck worrying about that.”
Topics: Sex and Relationships, Life, US News, Texas