What's Age Got To Do With It?

Even though 51 years separate them, married couple Wilson and Terzel insist their love is the real thing

- Maxine Peters

Their eyes met across a crowded room . . .

How many love stories start out this way? So many it’s become a cliché. But in the case of one Western Cape couple the attraction, while instant, was decidedly unexpected.

When Wilson Williams first spotted Terzel Rasmus at a dance, his eye was caught by her red dress. She, on the other hand, was attracted by his kind, gentlemanly manner. They shared a dance, a kiss and by the end of the night Cupid’s arrow had struck. So far so normal for a love-at-first-sight tale. But what makes this pair so different is that 51 years separates them.

Today they’re a happily married couple, he a sprightly 80-year-old pensioner, she a zippy 29-year-old, and they’re only too happy to share their love with the world.

And make no mistake, the world is fascinated. The couple have made international headlines, with news outlets such as the UK’s Daily Mail, Mirror and Sun catching wind of their romance.

“That was really such a surprise,” Terzel explains. “I started our Instagram page, @agegapdiaries, and after seeing our posts a woman from the UK interested in our story reached out to me.”

Their story flabbergasted readers far and wide, but as the couple from Somerset West near Cape Town share, the only thing that’s flabbergasting is the love they have for each other. Yes, at first glance they seem an unlikely match but, as Terzel says, “This age difference doesn’t mean a thing to us”.

T HE dating pool left much to be desired for Terzel. She was working as a journalist for a community newspaper back in 2015 and seemed only to come across guys her age who saw her as a meal ticket.