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'He's not my dad, he's my boyfriend'

A student with a boyfriend 40 years her senior is hitting back at strangers who assume he's her father.

Samantha Smith, 24, met her love Russell Edwards, 64, online three years ago, and hit it off straight away despite their visible age gap.

The couple, from Connecticut, in the US, claim they aren't fazed by strangers who assume they're father and daughter.

And despite Russell's family not supporting the relationship – mainly due to his own kids being older than Samantha – they are happier than ever.

Samantha says she gets dirty looks in public. Photo: Caters
Samantha says she gets dirty looks in public. Photo: Caters

"People always mistake him for being my dad in public,” Samantha, a medical assisting student, said.

"If we hold hands in public we get dirty looks but they tend to be from middle aged women who don't understand and think it's a sugar daddy situation.

"But when we tell them we're in a relationship it's just really awkward and embarrassing for them.

"My dad doesn't want to meet Russell, in his head he just thinks 'oh what does someone his age want to do with someone my age'.

"But my mum is really supportive, she loves Russell and has seen such a positive change in me since we've been dating.

"She really sees how happy I am with him, so she supports it – although she was in a little shock at first."

The couple's parents don't support their 40 year age gap. Photo: Caters
The couple's parents don't support their 40 year age gap. Photo: Caters

Russell, who owns a security system business, added: "I won't give up on mine and Samantha's relationship to suit other people.

"We have been subjected to taunts in the street but the main one that sticks in my mind was when we were at the package store and the cashier referred to Samantha as my daughter.

"When I said she was my girlfriend the lady didn't know what to do.

"We get our fair share of looks from people, but they usually don't have the nerve to say anything."

When the couple first met online in 2014, Samantha hadn't seen any pictures of Russell despite knowing his age. Nevertheless, it was love at first sight when they met in person.

"After talking online I realised we had a lot to talk about and a lot in common, so I knew we'd have a lovely date anyway,” Samantha said.

"As soon as I saw him I started falling for him – although he's older he's perfect for me, in both looks and personality.

"We have so much in common, we both loves films and we're both goofy… We're just like any other couple, we just have one major difference.”

She also added: "We have an active sex life together, there's no issue at all with that.”

Russell also said he hit it off with Samantha straight away, explaining: "I'd seen photos of her and obviously the first thing I realised was how pretty she was.

"She's so easy to talk to that we just couldn't stop chatting. She's very mature for her age so it almost felt like there wasn't an age gap at all.

"We started dating each other once a week, and after seeing each other for six months we made it official, and it's been great ever since."

- With reporting by Caters News

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