This archive report was first published on 13 November 2019.
At 65, Janet Albaugh thought she had found a friend in a 90-year-old widower, but their friendship blossomed into something more.
Janet met her future husband through mutual friends, who thought they would make a great couple. Initially, she didn't think much of the friendship, but things took a turn when she broke her wrist and he invited her to stay in his house for convenience.
For six weeks, Janet recuperated at his house, and when her wrist healed, they kept their living arrangements. Her husband started asking for her help with things around the house, and she began to feel a sense of belonging.
After losing all her living relatives in a span of 18 months, Janet's husband became the only family she had left. She says, 'He had become my family.'
Eventually, they became intimate, and he proposed several times, but Janet said no due to her embarrassment about their age difference. However, when she needed to be hospitalized, her husband's presence was denied, and she realized she wanted to marry him to have him by her side.
Janet admits that being married to a man of an older generation is different, but she believes in women's empowerment, which her husband understands. She explains, 'I make all doctor appointments, refill all medications, and troubleshoot all billing questions.' She also takes care of household chores and prepares meals for her husband.
Despite their age difference, Janet says she is happy and feels taken care of in her relationship. She adds, 'I got a sweet man who is in good health. I don’t worry about his womanizing. I feel taken care of in my relationship.'
