A man who married his 80-year-old wife as a teenager after meeting at her son’s funeral said they are “more in love than ever” as they prepare to celebrate their eighth wedding anniversary.
Gary Harwick, 26, from Tennessee was only 18 when he fell head over heels with 71-year-old Walmart worker Almeda Errol.
The pair met in less-than-ideal circumstances as they were attending the funeral of Almeda’s son, Robert.
The whirlwind romance reached its apex only two weeks into their relationship, when Gary popped the question – with the man saying they “fall more in love each day.”
In an emotional Instagram tribute to Almeda, the 26-year-old described her as his “queen” and referred to her as “babydoll” while celebrating her 80th birthday last week.
He said: “Happy birthday to the most amazing wife in the world. Today is not only your day, but most importantly, today is about celebrating the birth of such a wonderful & true woman with such a heart of gold.
“I’m the luckiest husband for every day that I get to wake up beside you. You make me the happiest man each and every day and I want to always make you the happiest woman.
“You deserve the world and until my last breath, I’ll work hard to give you that. All of my happiest moments are moments I share with you. I hope you have the best birthday ever today and I hope you enjoy all of your surprises my love.
“You’re truly the love of my lifetime and I love you with every beat of my heart. Here’s to celebrating my queen. Happy Birthday, Babydoll.”
Their relationship however has been met with some resistance from their families, with Gary and Almeda becoming estranged from her surviving son because of their age difference.
Two of the 80-year-old’s six grandchildren, Aaron and Indiana Elliot, admitted they struggle to accept their grandmother’s new partner because he is closer in age to them than Almeda.
Aaron, 29, said: “‘I only called him grandfather once and it was when I was drunk. In my head, I see him as a friend more than a grandfather. But you know, our grandmother is happy.”
And 17-year-old Indiana said: “How can you not be supportive about that? For me personally, whenever they first got together it was a little bit weird.
“But I mean, we live in the 21st century and those things really shouldn’t matter.”
Gary and Almeda have courted further controversy with the creation of a joint OnlyFans account where they share explicit pictures with paying subscribers
And the 26-year-old has also been very outspoken about their sexual relationship, describing his wife as a “wonderful lover.”
He said: “The first time we made love was on our wedding night. It was an amazing experience. There was such a deep connection there.”
“She really is my dream woman and the physical side of our relationship couldn’t be better.”
The mother-of-four had previously been married to husband Donald for 43 years before he died in 2013 from complications with diabetes.
Follow our social media accounts here on facebook.com/ExpressUSNews and @expressusnews
