I became a gran-of-4 at 22 – the oldest is only 11 years younger than me, people might judge but we’re a happy family
A WOMAN who is 33 years younger than her husband, revealed that she became a grandma at just 22 years old.
Courtney, 31, met Vann Thornton, 64, when they were aged 22 and 56.
Vann has four grandchildren, that Courtney is now a step-grandmother to, and she is only 11 years older than the oldest of them.
The couple tied the knot in July 2016 and say their family and friends have been supportive of their relationship.
Vann, a retired teacher turned musician, from Georgia, Atlanta, US, said: “She’s my best friend. In almost nine years of being together, we have never had an argument.
“We just get along.
“We sit here with each other all day long, every day. She does her stuff, I do my stuff and we’ll sit and talk.
“That’s not to say we don’t get upset, but we have never had anything other than a tense discussion.
“We are better today than we were when we met. I love her more than I did when we went to bed. I just made her breakfast now. I am lucky.”
Courtney, a photographer, added: “The fact he has kids and grandkids doesn’t bother me at all. We’re a match made in heaven.”
The duo met when he was helping her to find musicians for an event, and bonded over their similar interests.
Courtney said that Vann’s grandchildren, aged 20, 17, 15 and seven jokingly refer to her as “grandma”.
Despite their relationship working out, Vann warned other people away from age gap relationships.
He said: “I don’t suggest it for anybody.
“You’ve got to have something in common.
“I tell people we didn’t go into this intending to be in love and be married.
“I wasn’t looking for a 22-year-old and she wasn’t looking for a 56-year-old – we just clicked.
“I’m much happier with her than I am without her.”
The couple have a lot in common, such as a love of Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and The Office.
“We like a lot of the same things,” Vann said.
“She was raised in a home where they watched old TV shows from the 60s that I was raised on – so if I make a reference to an old TV show, she knows what I’m talking about.
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“I am a Swiftie all the way. We love Reputation, we sang and we danced in the living room.”
He added that their age gap hasn’t hindered their sex life.
“There’s a viewpoint that your sex drive gets less as you get older – it doesn’t have to,” he said.
Vann’s children are all older than Courtney, and in their 40s, but she has decided she doesn’t want to have kids of her own.
Courtney said: “All four of Vann’s kids completely accepted me as part of the family,” she said.
“I’m younger than them, so I was surprised at how well they accepted me.
“The key to our relationship is that we always communicate with each other, avoiding arguments and that we try to embrace each others age.
“I don’t think an age gap relationship is for everybody, but it’s right for us and I’m filled with happiness that I have finally found my forever soul mate.”
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