A male model who is dating a woman 19 years younger than him claims that jealous people are constantly trying to break the couple up – because they want him to be their sugar daddy.
Michael Stomatuk, 44, from Massachusetts, and his girlfriend Emily Downing, 25, from Arizona, met in 2018 at a yoga class, and the model says he was immediately drawn to her natural beauty and impressive fitness skills.
He decided to make the first move, and approached Emily to compliment her yoga practice. But while both say there was an instant chemistry between them, Emily admitted to being hesitant to take things any further because of their obvious age gap.
Despite her apprehension, she agreed to exchange numbers with Michael, and the pair arranged to go on a date. The duo walked the model’s dog around their neighborhood, and talked for more than three hours – with both quickly noting their strong physical and emotional attraction.
Breaking barriers: Male model Michael Stomatuk, 44, has revealed how he fell for girlfriend Emily Downing, who is 19 years his junior, after meeting her at a yoga class
Fighting fit: The couple, who are based in Arizona, say the age gap hasn’t been an issue in their relationship – although Emily admits she was initially hesitant to date Michael because of it
Under fire: Although they are happy and secure as a couple, Michael admits that Emily is flooded with messages from his fans who are trying to break them up
As the duo continued to meet up, they soon realized that they had fallen in love with each other. Michael recalls being reserved in the beginning due to the age difference, but soon felt his connection with Emily intensify.
For Emily, she realized she had fallen for Michael after they took their first holiday to California together in 2019. Emily usually gets tired of being around the same people for too long, but with Michael she didn’t want the trip to end, which was when she knew she had fallen for him.
As their relationship began getting serious, they decided to tell their friends and family in 2020 and to their surprise, both of their families supported their relationship as they loved seeing how happy both Michael and Emily made each other.
Michael loves Emily’s upbeat and sweet nature the most, whereas Emily loves Michael’s confidence and sense of humor. Although the two are happy and believe they have had no issues, Michael does travel a lot due to his job as a model, which can be taxing due to their time apart.
Michael began modelling in 2003, after someone from a modelling agency noticed him in the gym.
Since then, Michael has posted his journey as a model and personal trainer on TikTok, where he has received comments such as, ‘You have a beautiful smile’ and ‘I love your hair’ which boosts his confidence.
However, he has had a few uncomfortable comments from fan girls and boys, such as ‘Hey daddy, want to offer me some sugar?’ and ‘Do you still have a girlfriend?’ which Michael just brushes over, especially as Emily isn’t bothered by their comments.
Fans: Michael has built up an impressive following on social media, and as a result has a legion of dedicated fans, many of whom regularly ask him to be their ‘sugar daddy’
Staying strong: Some of these fans will message Emily and insist that Michael has been unfaithful in the hopes of coming between the couple
Battle: Although Emily ignores the messages, she admits that they can be hard to deal with
Despite this, there have been numerous outreaches to Emily from strangers claiming that Michael hasn’t been faithful and that she should break up with him – which Emily knows isn’t true, but admits that it’s not easy constantly hearing claims such as this.
For the future, the two hope to continue travelling across the world and are excited to see what the future holds, as they love each other very much and cannot imagine being without one another.
‘I initially thought Emily was very sweet and easy going and she recalls thinking that I was funny and had a good, positive energy about me – but was slightly apprehensive due to the age difference of 19 years,’ said Michael.
‘However, I really took a liking to her, so we exchanged numbers and arranged to meet up a few days later where we went on a dog walk.
‘We brought along some wine and began talking, where we spent three hours discussing our common interests and hobbies.
‘I think we both knew there was a connection, but due to a prior relationship of mine and our age difference, we were both quite reserved in the beginning and didn’t want to rush into a relationship.
‘After some time, we took our first trip together to California and this was where I realized that she was the love of my life.
‘For Emily, she usually gets bored of being around the same people for too long, but she never got tired of me during the trip which was when she realized that our connection was a lot deeper than what we both originally thought.
‘I loved how funny, upbeat and sweet Emily was – I just wanted to be around her all the time.
Saucy: ‘I’ve had some comments from fan girls – and boys – which are rather sexual, such as “Hey daddy” and “Omg, what a dilf,”‘ Michael, who has half a million TikTok followers, revealed
Together: ‘There have also been numerous outreaches to Emily from strangers saying that I haven’t been faithful and that she should break up with me,’ he added
Tongue-in-cheek: Michael insists that the couple takes all of the social media comments with a ‘pinch of salt’ and refuse to let them affect their relationship
‘We realized that our relationship was starting to get serious in 2020, so we decided to tell our family and friends. Much to our surprise, they were extremely supportive and positive about our relationship after seeing how happy we made each other.’
Emily and Michael believe the best thing about being together is how easy they make life for one another. They haven’t experienced any difficulties and although Michael’s travelling can be taxing due to the distance, Emily has handled this in her own way.
‘I began posting videos to TikTok in 2020, as I came across the platform and was really intrigued by it,’ said Michael.
‘Since then, I have racked up a following of over 500,000 which I’m so grateful for and I often receive comments in the street from strangers such as, “Aren’t you that hot guy from TikTok?” and “You have the most beautiful smile” as well as “I love you guys” shouted at us whenever I’m with Emily.
‘I’ve also had some comments from fan girls – and boys – which are rather sexual, such as “Hey daddy” and “Omg, what a dilf” which I take with a pinch of salt, as they can be quite funny.
‘Although, these comments haven’t affected our relationship, there have been numerous outreaches to Emily from strangers saying that I haven’t been faithful and that she should break up with me – but this isn’t true and Emily knows this which is the main thing, but it’s not that easy for her to hear claims such as this.
‘We have lots of things we want to do together in the future – especially travelling – but we love each other so much and we’re just excited to see where our relationship will take us.
‘Whether you like someone who has a five-year age gap or a 20-year age gap, you can’t help who you fall in love with. However, there has to be similarities on both sides otherwise you just won’t click.
‘Don’t take life so seriously. We understand that being in an age gap relationship isn’t for everyone and there will be people who get jealous of you – but don’t take it personally and be happy with the love that you have found.’