Couple with 55-year-old age gap defend 'selfish' baby plans

A married couple with an age gap of 55 years, who are regularly mistaken for grandpa and granddaughter, have spoken out about their desire to have children together.

The couple has hit headlines for getting regularly mistaken for being relatives or a patient and carer – but now they are planning to have children together.

Alexis Tadlock, 24, met her now-husband Charles, 79, at church in their hometown of Sheridan, Arkansas in the US.

When they first met – back in 2015 – Charles, who has two grown up children aged 48 and 54, was with his wife, Kathy. However, their friendship turned to romance after Kathy died from lung cancer in September 2017 – and they were engaged by October 2018.

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“[Kathy] and I were good friends, and I was very sad when she passed away,” says Alexis.

“I never had much to do with Charles, but one day I saw him sitting alone at church and he was crying.

“I went to comfort him, and we talked for ages. We became good friends after that, and we would go do things together and just hang out.

“Eventually, I think we became dependent on each other and my feelings really started to grow the more time we spent together.”

However, Alexis says she initially “never thought anything could happen” between her and Charles – and even tried to set him up with “an older lady”, but he refused to go.

“One day, he told me how much he missed me. I asked him if he ever felt that way towards anyone else, and he said, ‘only my wife’,” said Alexis of how their companionship turned into a whirlwind romance, which saw the pair tying the knot at the end of 2018 after less than two months of engagement.

“He is the best husband I ever could have asked for and we love each other deeply. We’re very happy,” she says.

What’s more, Alexis and Charles have faced a backlash for their desire to have children together.

“We want to have a baby. I’ve been told I’m selfish if I have a child with him because they might grow up without a dad,” says Alexis.

“But when he dies, I’ll have nothing of him. I need something from him to carry with me throughout the rest of my life.”

Charles turns 80 in August, but despite his age he has no fertility issues, according to Alexis.

“A lot of people get angry because they assume that Charles can not give me children due to his age,” she says.

“But that is not true at all. We’ve gone for tests, and it’s actually me that has some fertility issues that we’re working on.”

For couples like Alexis and Charles, age is just a number. Nor do age gap relationships only work one way around.

Last month, an 83-year-old grandma said her love has continued to grow with husband who is 40 years younger.

While their four-decade age gap might be unconventional for some, Edna claims she and her husband of 14 years are “still intimate” – often expressing their affection for one another through public displays such as bum pinching.

“We are still intimate in the bedroom as much as any couple in love,” says Edna, who is a grandmother-of-four.

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