The story of a 24-year-old Tanzanian man dating an 80-year-old woman is enough testimony of the power of love.
George and Catherine Thomas, residents of Tanga, have defied odds in defending their love relationship that has attracted a lot of criticism from family and the entire community.
“People will always try to destroy something good. My life without him would be meaningless,” said Catherine during an interview with Afrimax.
Catherine, a mother of five children, disclosed that she was lonely and wanted to fall in love again after the death of her husband.
Some of their critics have accused Catherine of bewitching George and brainwashing him to fall in love with her.
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On the other hand, other critics term George as an opportunist, taking advantage of the old lady to inherit her wealth.
George was a boda boda rider in Southern Tanzania, who dropped out of school due to lack of school fees.
Catherine advised him to quit the boda boda business after they fell in love, for them to bond and spend more time together.
How they met
George used to carry Catherine daily on his motorbike to her business premises as a regular customer.
One day, Catherine left a bag with Tsh6 million (Ksh380,000) with George after he took her home.
“It was too late and rainy to return. I took it to the house the next day but didn’t find her,” said George.
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According to Catherine, she had forgotten where she had left the money, as she embarked on a three-month trip the following day.
“When I returned, he brought back the money, which is how he won my heart,” Catherine stated.
She was impressed by George’s honesty and then requested him to start dating her.
“It took a while to process it, and I said yes. Critics wonder why I love someone as old as my grandmother, but I don’t care,” he said.
At first, Catherine’s children could not understand why she fell in love with a man younger than them.
She has a total of five children and several grandchildren, as her firstborn is 43 while the lastborn is 35.
However, due to Catherine’s persistence, the children accepted George as her lover and partner after the death of their father several years ago.
On the other hand, George’s sister, Mary, was disappointed to learn that he was in love with a woman old enough to be his grandmother.
According to her, the two love birds were confusing madness for love.
“The age gap is too much when someone is 50 years older than you. They are confusing love and madness,” Mary stated.
