A teacher whose husband is 31 years her senior revealed he called off their first wedding because his daughters thought she was too young.
Kerri Hunt, 35, from London, immediately fell for Tom, 66, after meeting in a pub, despite him being just three months younger than her father.
He popped the question in 2016 but moved out a month before they were set to wed when his daughters, aged 25 and 36, objected.
But just two weeks later he realised his mistake and the couple married in a surprise ceremony in Corfu that summer.
Kerri Hunt, 35, from London, immediately fell for Tom, 66, after meeting in a pub in 2012
The couple tied the knot in Corfu, pictured, after Tom called off their planned British wedding
Kerri, a teacher, admitted some people mistake Tom, a business owner, for her father
Kerri said: ‘It was horrible when Tom called off the wedding. His daughters were initially wary of our huge age gap which I understand.
‘But now they see how happy we are together and we have their blessing. Tom’s perfect for me and I couldn’t be happier.’
Kerri was working at a pub when she met Tom, who runs a fire protection company, in July 2012.
‘He was so handsome and caught my eye straight away,’ she said. ‘He had a level of maturity about him which was really attractive.
The couple began dating in 2012 and Tom popped the question in January 2016
Kerri said she knew Tom was the ‘love of her life’ even though he is the same age as her father
Kerri’s father was initially hesitant about the 31-year age gap but the pair now get on well
‘Even though I knew he was the same age as my dad, I couldn’t help but fancy him. He looked 20 years younger than his age. And we’d flirt every time he came in for a pint.’
Two months later Tom asked Kerri out for a drink and they began dating.
She continued: ‘We got on so well and I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.
‘Despite there being 31 years between us, the age gap has never bothered me at all. He’s so attentive and charming.
‘My dad is only three months older than Tom and thought he was too old for me. But as soon as he saw how happy Tom made me, he was fine with it and they get on great.
Tom’s daughters, aged 25 and 36, were wary of Kerri at the start of the relationship
Tom called off their wedding in 2016 because he was worried it would cause a family rift
‘I knew Tom’s daughters had concerns about our age gap but I just put it to the back of my mind. In the past, they’d raised concerns about our age gap saying that I was too young for him.’
Kerri was ‘over the moon’ when Tom proposed in January 2016 but was worried about his family would react.
‘His daughters both live quite far away, so I hadn’t spent much time with them,’ she continued. ‘I think that they were concerned that I was with him for the wrong reasons. I understood their worries, but I wanted to prove how much I loved Tom.’
But worried their wedding would cause a rift in the family, Tom called it off just a month before the planned date in May 2016.
Two weeks later he apologised to Kerri and the pair married in Corfu shortly afterwards
Kerri said Tom is ‘charming’, ‘gorgeous’ and looks 20 years younger than he is
Kerri said: ‘I was absolutely devastated. We split up and Tom moved out. I tried to keep myself occupied but couldn’t get him out of my mind. I knew we were meant to be together. I was devastated.
‘Two weeks later, Tom called me out of the blue claiming he’d made a huge mistake and couldn’t live without me. I was so relieved.
‘We were set to holiday in Corfu in August 2016 and two weeks before we flew out, Tom suggested that we get married there. We invited my family and kept the wedding a secret. We wanted to make it a lovely surprise for everyone.
‘Tom’s family didn’t come along because of the short notice but we knew we had their blessing. Our wedding day was beautiful and it felt so good to become Tom’s wife.’
Kerri said it felt ‘so good’ to become Mrs Hunt and said she doesn’t care what people think
The couple are sometimes mistaken for father and daughter but politely correct strangers
However Kerri admitted their age gap still leads to some awkward moments with strangers.
Kerri added: ‘Tom has been mistaken for my dad in the past. An estate agent once thought he was my dad when we were viewing a house.
‘I just laughed off the comment and politely corrected him. He apologised straight away but I didn’t mind.
‘Even if he is old enough to be my dad, Tom is still the most gorgeous man I’ve ever met. And we’re perfect for one another. We battled through family’s criticism and we can battle through anyone else’s.
‘I don’t care what anyone thinks of our 31-year age gap, he’s the love of my life.’