A young woman in a relationship with a man nearly three times her age has spoken up about her love life. Kelsey Hopeful, 28, is a cheerful young woman who never imagined herself in a loving relationship with a 76-year-old widower. Her life, however, was dramatically altered when she chose to take a yoga class.
While attending a yoga class in San Diego, she met Guy BonGiovanni, a widower from Alaska who wanted to try yoga as a way to cope with the death of his wife of 42 years. Kelsey was drawn to Guy’s calming voice and story-telling ability once they began talking, and they enjoyed their shared moments without rushing into anything.
“We talked for two hours alone in that gym, and when he said his farewell, he just walked away.” There were no phone numbers or last names requested, and there were no promises that we would ever see each other again. “That’s how our tale started,” the 28-year-old stated. “It was more of a recognition of each other than love at first sight.” We took our time getting into love.
The timbre of his voice and his ability to narrate a story initially drew me in. I could sit there and listen to him for hours.” Guy and Kelsey started a romantic relationship and grew close to each other over the next year, despite the fact that they recognized it wasn’t love at first sight that brought them together.
“During the early stages of our relationship, I would cry alone about our 48-year age difference.” We enjoyed wonderful moments together watching plays, going on walks, and discovering pastry shops, yet tears would fall,” Kelsey admitted. “I remember we were having pastries in Santa Monica and I started crying in front of him, and it wasn’t because I had just had the finest rum ball I’d ever had.”
But I was enjoying joy on another level when I suddenly realised that he is 48 years older than me and has fewer summers ahead of him than I do.” After Guy advised her “there is no point in sobbing about death until it happens” and urged her to live for the now, the young woman eventually learnt to embrace the present as it is and stop worrying about the future.
“When the friendship blossomed into us becoming lovers, it was important to me that we kept the opinions of others away from my ears, especially in the beginning,” Kelsey said. “When we first met, I was a person who was concerned about the opinions of others and was a people-pleaser. For the first year of our relationship, I didn’t tell anyone.
“After getting to know Guy, he became my greatest motivator to learn how to live more true to my heart and not be afraid to be who you are.” Though people often mistake her for Guy’s granddaughter or caregiver, Kelsey has learned to accept their age gap with a smile on her face. She also faced her family and told her loved ones about her unconventional relationship one by one.
“When we are in public, there is a good chance that people from a distance may think I am Guy’s caregiver,” the 28-year-old added. “Even when we explain we are a couple, we have received no snarky comments or facial expressions of horror. We’re better together and I think people feel that when they meet us and see how happy we are.”
As for her newfound perception of age, Kelsey now no longer fears growing old, as Guy helped her realize that a person can be happy at any stage in life. “Another benefit to our age gap is that we think about what’s my time worth on earth today. Guy has an ocean’s worth of life experiences, but he shares his wisdom with spontaneity and care,” she concluded.
“He is the most important person in my life and the best example of how to age healthy and be happy at any stage in one’s life. I am no longer afraid to grow into an old woman anymore.” Congratulations to the couple!