00:00All right, Larry, let's pick out your outfit for the day.
00:04I like this t-shirt.
00:05My name is Imani.
00:07My name is Larry, and I'm 77 years old.
00:11And I'm 34 years old.
00:12There's 43 years between us.
00:15We met on a dating website.
00:17His white hair intrigued me, and so I reached out.
00:22I find older men more attractive in general.
00:25I felt he was a pretty attractive older gentleman.
00:28And then when I saw him in person, he did not disappoint.
00:32We have been together for over nine years.
00:34There was a point when I suddenly
00:37started looking at it and think, I can't
00:39imagine not having her in my life.
00:41The thing I love the most is how much he talks.
00:44He loves conversation.
00:47So there's never a dull moment.
00:48There's never a moment where I'm bored.
00:50Sometimes I think that I have these vast experiences,
00:53but she understands everything.
00:55I'm always amazed at her grasp of everything we talk about
00:59and are things she teaches me.
01:02I picked out this lovely shirt that I got him last Christmas.
01:08The pants kind of match with the color of the flowers
01:11in the shirt.
01:12Got a little artsy kind of deal going on.
01:16You ready for a little dancing?
01:18Yes, I am.
01:20Last week, we were traveling, and we were in Paris.
01:23And I proposed.
01:25And I said yes.
01:26And she said yes.
01:28I always knew I would end up with someone older than me,
01:32but to the extent of 43 years, no.
01:36It's definitely something for me to think about and take
01:38into consideration, because there's
01:41a lot that comes along with it.
01:43For instance, like his health, when his health declines,
01:46when he gets older, what that's going to look like,
01:48how that's going to affect our day-to-day.
01:52But I think it's only natural to be
01:54concerned about what's going to happen to someone's health
01:57as they get older.
01:58When you're much younger, you don't think
02:00about that far down the line.
02:02But because I'm closer, I think about it.
02:04So we openly discuss these things.
02:06If it came to a time where we were going our separate ways,
02:11I would see myself dating a woman.
02:14I am bisexual.
02:16No one could compete with Larry.
02:17This is the gold standard.
02:19And so I'd really be kind of disinterested in dating a man.
02:26I would be more interested in pursuing a woman.
02:31He was already dancing.
02:32I do competition ballroom dancing.
02:34Yeah, and then I was like, whoa, I want to dance with you too.
02:39So I was like, let's take a class together.
02:42The most magnificent thing he treats me to
02:45is shopping sprees in Paris.
02:48I think that has to be the most spoiled I've ever
02:52gotten in my entire life.
02:54He very rarely tells me no.
02:57I would say he kind of spoils me on a regular basis.
03:00She has no expectations.
03:02She's very, very grateful for everything that it's done.
03:07All right, let's take a quick photo for Instagram.
03:09I'm in.
03:12Got it?
03:12Yeah.
03:13I think the biggest misconception
03:15about our relationship is that I am in it for the money.
03:19Generally, my age that I meet, they usually
03:22assume I am housewife type of deal,
03:26where just I'm spending all day cooking and cleaning for him.
03:29She felt it a lot more than I did.
03:31I'm very aware that I get more of a pass than she does.
03:34It's a combination of our community
03:36and then just societal norms.
03:38They just assume that our relationship is different.
03:41People are uncomfortable with different.
03:43So one person commented, you in it for the money,
03:47be honest, which is not true.
03:51I'm with him because I love him.
03:53And if I was with him only for his money,
03:57I probably wouldn't be with him for this long.
03:59Someone else commented, but will you make daddy a sandwich?
04:03Not just a gold digger, but a sandwich burger.
04:07That's what I want to know.
04:08Not only do I not refer to him as daddy,
04:11but I'm not making anyone a sandwich.
04:13Our Uber eats a sandwich.
04:15We pretty much just brush it off.
04:17When they stare, I give them a yeah, thumbs up,
04:20eat your heart out.
04:22No, I don't do anything.
04:23I hardly, I'm barely aware of it.
04:26I think the fact that we get judged
04:29has made us strong as a couple because it's strengthened
04:33our communication, in a certain way
04:36strengthened our bond with one another.
04:39She has been discriminated against all of her life,
04:42and I've never encountered that.
04:43So when we're talking about these things,
04:46it gives me a greater awareness of the difficulties
04:49she has to deal with in her life.
04:51Gives me more empathy to her situation.
04:54So yeah, that has helped strengthen our bond.
04:57So most people assume we're probably not gonna be together
05:00for that long because I'm probably gonna want kids
05:03in the long run or something like that
05:04is gonna be a drastic change.
05:06And that's not gonna happen for us
05:08because I don't want children.
05:10Like when I'm by myself and I get stairs, I get it.
05:14Cause I'm like, oh, I'm six feet tall.
05:16Like people are probably looking at me like, whoa,
05:19not too many six feet tall black women in this area.
05:23But specifically when I'm with him,
05:25I view it as I'm getting judged because of the age gap,
05:30because of the racial difference and those things.
05:34And a lot of people understandably
05:36probably thought this was a fluke.
05:39Like how long will this last?
05:40But then when you get nine years out,
05:42they see the depth of our love for each other.
05:46I think that most of my friends are very clear on that.
05:48All of my friends have accepted it right away.
05:53Today, we're going to have a phone call
05:56with my longtime friend and her close friend now, Carolina.
06:00She's always been supportive,
06:01but I'll be curious to see what she has to say
06:03about her initial reaction to our relationship.
06:07What did you think when you first met me?
06:10At the beginning, you were a little bit more shy or reserved.
06:14I think that you also have guarded maybe
06:17because of whatever has happened in the past.
06:19But little by little, you open up so much to me
06:22that you're such a beautiful woman inside and out.
06:26Were you shocked that I was dating someone so much younger?
06:30It's different when you hear about the age gap
06:33and then it's very different when you live it.
06:36When you hear it, it might bring a little bit
06:38of that curiosity on why are they together.
06:43When I go out to dinner with you and when we have travel,
06:46I realize that you guys don't have an age gap
06:49because you guys communicate so well and get along so well.
06:52So now that we're engaged...
06:56I know, I'm so excited.
06:58It's a new chapter.
06:59I mean, you guys have been together for so long,
07:01but it's also such a good way
07:03to grow in your relationship now as a married couple.
07:08She has changed my life in the sense,
07:10as I've learned about her background
07:12and the things she has had to endure in her life.
07:15Living in this community, the nature of the work I do,
07:18it's a great world,
07:18but it's not representative of our entire country.
07:24I think what she's really brought to my life
07:26is an intellectual understanding
07:27of what the other side is like.
07:30Larry has changed my life for the better
07:32in a lot of ways.
07:35I'm truly happy.
07:36Yeah.
07:37I could write a book on how much he's changed my life.
07:41He's done so much for me,
07:44emotionally, spiritually, financially, mentally.
07:49He's elevated my life.
07:51I've grown into becoming the person
07:54that I've always wanted to be thanks to him.
07:57I think one of the biggest reasons that it worked
08:00is because we have great communication.
08:03We do.
08:03We communicate about everything,
08:06and we know how to communicate diplomatically.
08:09We're never disrespectful to each other,
08:12even when we're upset.
08:14We don't belittle each other.
08:16We don't ever put each other down.
08:18The future does look bright,
08:19because we are getting married,
08:20so that is the one exciting thing about the future.
08:24Now that he's going down this path of semi-retirement,
08:30we have more time to travel.
08:33For the people that judge us,
08:35I would say, you know, get a life.
08:37It really doesn't impact us at all.
08:40I love you.
08:42I love you too.
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