When 23-year-old Veronica joined a work video call a little over a year ago, she instantly felt butterflies.
On the screen before her was 54-year-old Samuele, and despite their 31-year age gap, the pair immediately hit it off.
‘It wasn’t just professional dialogue flowing effortlessly – there was a special connection I had never experienced,’ Veronica explained.
The pair, who live in Italy, worked on several projects together and they soon realised they were more than just colleagues.
It felt as if we shared the same emotions, the same mind,’ says Veronica.
And, when they met in person, Veronica says their ‘physical connection was just as powerful as their mental and spiritual one’.
Veronica, from Turin, adds: ‘When we saw each other for the first time, we realised that what we had felt behind a screen was not just imagination. It was love, pure and simple.’
But while the 23-year-old digital communications worker fell hard for her older suitor, her parents didn’t share her sense of happiness.
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In fact, it left her mother, who at 51 is younger than her daughter’s boyfriend, wondering if they’d somehow done something wrong.
‘My parents were perhaps the biggest challenge,’ Veronica explained. ‘At first, they were shocked and incredulous.
‘They couldn’t understand how I, so young, could fall in love with a man so different in age and life experiences. There were heated arguments, nights of silence, and tears.
‘It’s normal to feel some initial shock and to need time to process the situation. They did some online research to better understand the dynamics and even wondered if this choice might be tied to a lack of affection on their part. They also consulted forums with psychologists.’
But, in spite of their strong feelings, her parents never tried to stop Veronica from seeing her boyfriend.
‘Within a few weeks, they began to see things differently, especially after meeting Sam,’ Veronica said. They saw and understood the genuine feelings between us.’
Samuele, who is divorced with no children, soon won Veronica’s parents’ acceptance and is now considered part of the family.
‘We travel together, have family dinners, and share moments of joy as a family,’ Veronica explained.
But her parents weren’t the only hurdle the couple have had to overcome in their relationship. The couple share their age-gap relationship on TikTok (@theagegaplove) documenting their everyday life together, and receive a mixed reaction.
‘The looks, the comments, the judgements have been with us from the very beginning,’ she added.
‘When our videos went viral on TikTok, we were flooded with all kinds of comments – from the classic ones like “daddy issues”, “either he’s rich or he’s Rocco”, “he’s her father”, or “he’s her grandfather”, to much harsher remarks.
‘Those were difficult moments, but we wanted to be a source of support for people – both men and women – who were in similar relationships.
Do age gap relationships ever work out?
Age gap relationships have long been the topic of debate with many questioning if they can truly go the distance.
Clinical sexologist and relationship coach Ness Cooper previously told Metro that as long as age gaps happen between consenting adults of legal age, there ‘shouldn’t really be an issue’.
‘The whether or not age gaps are suitable is a social construction, and some of these may’ve been influenced by current cultural belief, fertility, or wishing to continue a blood line, for example.’
Ness notes that there’s some social stigma around age gap relationships that can cause issues, with worries about what our friends and family might think causing us to doubt a relationship that might otherwise work.
‘I have coached people with seven to 40 years difference and the relationships they all have are very different,’ she said.
‘One thing I can say though is that there is more stigma the larger the age gap, and those over 30 in a relationship often get less peer pressure to date their own age.’
‘Since then, we’ve received messages every day from people living through stories like ours. Many write to us because they are keeping their relationships hidden from their parents or families and are looking for advice.’
Veronica said that other age-gap couples thank them for giving them the ‘strength to believe in their own love stories’ and some have even felt empowered to make their own relationships public.
The couple always respond to their online haters the same way, by telling them that ‘happiness has no age and love cannot be measured by other people’s opinions’.
‘Many people use social media to vent their own unhappiness and spread negativity,’ Veronica explained.
‘Negative comments will always exist, but even the haters are often called out by our followers, who understand that our goal is simply to normalise love stories that fall outside the conventional mould.’
The couple have since moved in together and say they’ve learned to ‘protect’ their love by ignoring anyone who doesn’t understand they are two consenting adults who are happy.
Veronica added: ‘Unfortunately, we live in a world where prejudice weighs heavier than understanding.
‘Life is a one-of-a-kind gift, a miracle that deserves to be lived with all your heart, every single day. Loving life means accepting it as it is, without conditions, without expectations.’
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