Though people often say ‘age is just a number,’ living by that principle can be challenging in real-life interactions with others.
Even with the noticeable age difference, this couple managed to connect and relate to each other.
Rich Foetu Tomkinson, 48, and Evie Boucher-Locke, 29, are completely smitten with each other. They instantly connected when they met at a pub where Rich was serving her drinks.
After beginning their relationship in July 2018 and officially dating by October of that year, Rich and Evie decided to move in together in February 2019.
As their relationship grew more serious and they met each other’s families, they had a surprising revelation. Through Evie’s introduction to Rich’s mother, Sarah Owen, they discovered something unusual about themselves that few couples could claim.
In the 1990s, Rich and Evie’s mother, Sarah, worked on the same street. When Rich met Sarah and learned more about her past, he realized that he had often seen her pushing Evie in a stroller when she was a baby.
In hindsight, it was a bit strange to realize that I had met Evie when she was just a baby. But we just laugh about it now. To us, age is irrelevant, and you can’t control who you fall for,” Rich said.
They have a 20-year age difference, so people often mistake them for father and daughter.
Sometimes people assume I’m Evie’s father, but it’s clear that we have a great relationship. Rich has mentioned that the age gap between them isn’t a concern.
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Evie felt comfortable with Rich due to his gentle demeanor, and Rich was also drawn to her. To keep in touch, he invited her to join a big charity event he was organizing.
They continued to stay connected, and when Rich noticed how much he missed Evie while she was on vacation, he came to a profound realization: he was deeply in love with her. Since that moment, they’ve rarely been apart.
In late 2018, Rich was devastated to find out that his father had cancer. He went through a difficult emotional period, but Evie supported him throughout. This experience only deepened his feelings for her.
Only a month after they started living together, Rich proposed to Evie. He planned an extravagant proposal, asking her to marry him in front of a thousand people at a movie theater where he was showing a charity documentary.
“I didn’t hesitate to say yes,” Evie remembers.
The couple had planned their wedding for June 2021 but had to delay it due to the Covid outbreak. After the heartbreaking loss of both their mothers within a span of six weeks, Rich and Evie made the difficult decision to cancel their ceremony at Somerford Hall in Brewood.
“We discussed it, and Evie realized she couldn’t walk down the aisle without her father, so she decided it wasn’t the wedding she had dreamed of,” Rich said. “There was a lot of sadness.”
We felt like we had lost everything and thought we wouldn’t be able to afford a wedding until we discovered that the insurance would cover the costs. Trying to describe the stress we went through is nearly impossible. The loss was overwhelming, making it even harder to grieve, which is something no one should have to endure, Rich said.
Eventually, they got married in a small ceremony with just about 200 close family and friends.
Rich shared, “Marrying Evie was the happiest day of my life, and now we’re thrilled to be expecting our first child.”
The couple had the most fun on their wedding day, which was filled with dance-offs and other enjoyable activities. Although many of their loved ones initially doubted their seriousness as a couple, they went on to marry and are now anticipating the arrival of their first child together.
Rich also noted, “We’ve made a few jokes about how people might think of me as the grandfather rather than the father at sports events and similar activities.”
Nonetheless, the couple plans to handle it with humor and not let it bother them.
