‘I’d never date someone older than me again’

aria-louise Warne, M 60, who lives in France, was married to husband Carol for 26 years, until they split in 2008. He was 22 years older.

She says: “I was a 25-yearold shop assistant when I fell for my boss, Carol, 47. While I didn’t care about the age gap, everyone else was horrified. My mum warned me I’d end up supporting him in his old age, but I was so convinced he was The One that I ditched any friends who disagreed.

“We moved in together after five years, but it wasn’t the ‘happily ever after’ I’d imagined. His friends were all in their fifties and I had nothing in common with them. We never had sex and he refused to discuss having kids. He said his daughters from a previous relationship would be devastated.

“In 1995, I was 38 when Carol, 60, had open-heart surgery. The procedure went wrong, and he contracted the superbug MRSA, leaving him in a coma for six weeks. When he came round, he proposed by scrawling on a piece of paper: ‘Will you marry me?’

“Caught up in the moment, I said yes and we married in December that year. He was still unwell and struggled to stand during the ceremony. Instead of enjoying a night of marital bliss, I put him to bed at 5pm.

“We moved to France in 2002 but, three years later, he had a stroke and I was worried about our future and money. The strain of everything meant I went from 8st to 15st.

“Our marriage broke down and Carol left me in 2008 to return to the UK, saying he wanted to be nearer his children. He was probably as unhappy in our age-gap marriage as I was.

“Even now I’m bitter about losing 26 years of my life. Today I am seeing someone my own age. There is no way I would commit to someone older than me again.”