17-year-old American, he married 71-year-old pensioner

• 17-year-old American, married 71-year-old pensioner

When heartbroken pensioner Almeda Errell of Sevierville, Tennessee, went for the last time to say goodbye to her son, the last thing she expected - is to meet the love. After a dizzying three-week romance she and Gary Hardwick, who at the time was dating 17 years (now 18), who had previously met with the 77-year-old woman, married within the wedding ceremony, which cost just $ 200 and six days of training.

Who unusual couple lives in the house Almeda along with one of her grandchildren, who three years older than her new husband.

"I was not looking for a young man, Gary just appeared - Almeda says that working as an assistant in a supermarket. - I immediately realized that he - the one only. " Now the woman is much happier than when, after the death of her husband survived and even death of the eldest son, Robert, who died of a heart attack at 45 years.

"I was married to her first husband Donald 43 years old, and when he died in 2013 from complications of diabetes, after spending seven months in the hospital, I was all alone - says Almeda. - I went to work at Walmart in tears, and colleagues have asked what happened to me. I subconsciously looking for a soul mate. " Women also had to endure the death of his son Robert. "He constantly had health problems after an accident in his youth. But when his wife Lisa called and said that he had died, it was a shock for me. It was very hard, "- says Almeda.

Gary, whose passion for women between the ages began with love for a teacher at the age of eight years, says that, too, is experiencing hard times, feeling miserable in a relationship with his 77-year-old former mistress. "We are constantly fighting. I became depressed and sought out ", - says the guy. It was then that Lisa, his aunt invited him to her husband Robert's funeral.

Almeda says: "I saw this young man with a charming smile during the service and thought," Wow, that's it. " He was standing at the other end of the church, but I continued to stare at him. It was a ray of light through the darkness of sorrow. Then, when in the end I came out of the door, he walked over and offered his condolences. We did not have much time, but it was enough. "

In the next few months, she kept thinking about Gary. But the woman did not understand that the feelings are mutual. But as soon as Gary parted with his mistress, he went to Aunt Lisa to confess her feelings for Olmedo. "It was unexpected for me. She had the most beautiful, shining blue eyes. When I told Lisa that I love Almeda, she replied that she, too, I like me and she introduced us closer ", - says Gary.

Shortly thereafter, Lisa invited them to a family dinner at a nearby pizza place on the birthday of his nine-year old daughter Evelyn. Gary and Almeda sat side by side, and the spark of love again broke out between them. "He was the same as I remembered him. This smile, a kind look. We were both too nervous to eat, and at some point he fell off his chair "- the woman says. "We have a few hours talking about everything in a row and found that we have a lot in common, such as love of country music and Italian food," - says Gary, who recently wrote a book about his life titled "Here's who I am" (This I Am Who I Am).

But Almeda had to ask one more question. She recalls: "I was just issued," Look, I'm 71 and you're 17. Not too old for you I "He shook my hand, smiled and said:" Age - it's just a number. ' " That night, when they returned home to Lisa, Gary surprised her a bouquet of red roses and a gift in the form of a bracelet birthday, which was a few days earlier. Then they kissed for the first time, sitting on the bench under the moon. "I felt like a teenager again" - smiles Almeda.

Since then, they have started to meet every day and have been approved by the majority of friends and family, including Gary's mother, Tammy, and his grandmother Carolyn, who is as old as and Almeda.

But not everyone had it to their liking. "Some relatives said that Gary was too young for me and that I must be crazy. I told them that was not crazy and that we love each other ", - says Almeda. Two weeks after the first date, the woman did not hesitate a second when Gary called her and proposed marriage. Six days later, when Gary everything quickly and cheaply organized, Almeda wearing a wedding dress, borrowed from a cousin and they were married in the gardens in front of Lisa's house, where he first kissed.

The first night they slept together for the first time. "It was wonderful, better than my wildest fantasies. She's really a woman of my dreams, and the physical aspect of our relationship - could not be better "- Gary admitted. According to Olmedo, the time was best for her. "I had never felt such unity", - she says.

After they were married in October 2015, Gary has made tattoos with their names on his chest. Now the couple lives in a house with five bedrooms, which belongs to Olmedo, along with her daughter and grandchildren Diannoy Aaron and Indiana. Gary started working in another Walmart store but wants to transfer to one where work Almeda, to spend more time together. He says, "Almeda so young in mind that age does not prevent us, we never remember it. I just know that God has answered my prayers that day, when I met her. " Almeda adds: "I realized that if you love someone for real, no matter what anybody thinks about it."