A deeply in love couple with a remarkable 27-year age difference has responded to criticism of their unconventional relationship, even though they admit that people frequently confuse them for mother and son.
Mickey Swearingon, 23, and Cherie Salinas, 50, share that others often mistake them for family members rather than romantic partners – a mix-up they admit is made more confusing because Cherie’s son is the same age as her boyfriend.
The pair, from Katy, Texas, shared that they’re not bothered by the judgment they receive for their relationship and find remarks about them being mother and son amusing.
“I honestly don’t know how to reply when people say she’s my mom. It’s such a grey area and it’s all about proving things to people about our relationship,” said Mickey. “We just want to be happy and if people have anything to say about it then let them.”
The couple first connected on Tinder in April of last year after Cherie’s husband passed away, and she decided to explore dating younger men. According to Mickey, he has always been drawn to older women, but he had never found someone he connected with as deeply as Cherie.
“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,” he said.
“After my husband passed away, it took me some time to decide to date again, and I realized I was attracted to younger guys,” added Cherie. “[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.”
After their first date, they felt a strong bond and decided to spend more time together, feeling like they had found love instantly. Soon after, they became very close and realized their relationship was serious. They knew it was time to tell their families about it.
At first, Mickey’s mom was unsure and concerned for her son because of the age gap. However, after spending time with Cherie, she has been able to accept it and come to terms with the situation.
“When I first started getting into age gap relationships, my mom wasn’t very supportive because she just thought an older woman would use me,” said Mickey. “But when she met Cherie, she could see how happy we were and she just warmed to her straight away.”
“When you get into something like this, there’s bound to be a rough patch, but we don’t care what people say, and we’re just glad we can have our families behind us.”
Cherie also shared that her family, including her son who is the same age as Mickey, has been incredibly supportive. In fact, they’ve grown close and have even become good friends.
“My son actually has met him and they get along very well, which is always a good thing to have with something like this,” she said. “A lot of my family haven’t met Mickey, but they’re supportive and just happy because I’m happy.”
“There’s so much stigma around relationships like ours and it’s mostly incorrect. We just love being together, no matter what people say,” she added.
Mickey concluded that people have a lot of misconceptions about relationships with an age gap. They assume something odd must be going on, but he values the maturity 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.”
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Source: Daily Mail
