Copyright birminghammail
A woman whose partner is 27 years older says strangers regularly assume she's her mother, but firmly denies having "doesn't have mummy issues" and insists she is actually the "mature one" in the relationship. Charlotte Marshall, 30, was only 21 when she connected with Julie Kerry, 57, then 49 and a married mum-of-one, through social media as they discovered a mutual passion for Holby City. Despite facing criticism from online trolls who question whether Charlotte was groomed or wonder if Julie is actually her parent, the couple have maintained a strong relationship for nearly ten years. Read more: Claudia says her and Tess's Strictly replacements 'locked in' Just months after initially connecting on Twitter , healthcare assistant Julie relocated more than 100 miles from Coventry to move in with Charlotte in her home town of Pontypool, South Wales. The couple now say their relationship proves age-gap romances can succeed after nine years together. Charlotte, who is currently not in employment, said: "At the time we met, I was very active on Twitter. I was a very big film and TV buff. "I loved watching all the old shows and I'd try to tweet celebrities. I was obsessed with Holby City and a lesbian couple - Serena and Bernie - which they had at the time. "Julie would like my tweets and reply to me, then one day she sent me a private message." The two initially connected through their shared enthusiasm for the soap. "We talked more about Holby City and more stuff that we had in common, like TV and movies", Charlotte said. "We talked a lot about relationships because I wasn't sure what I wanted.Both were nervous before Julie travelled three-and-a-half hours on a train for their first in-person encounter in December 2016." Both felt anxious before Julie embarked on a three-and-a-half hour train journey for their first face-to-face meeting in December 2016. Charlotte admitted: "I was very hesitant, I was worried. "I struggle a lot with my appearance and my weight and I was scared about her not liking me in person. "But my friend encouraged me to do it. "I picked her up from the train station and we spent the day together. "As soon as we met, we just clicked. "When she was going back, I was crying coming out of the station. I felt like my heart was getting ripped out." At that point, Julie 'wasn't looking for anything' - having not revealed her true self to loved ones or separated from her husband of 20 years. However, encountering Charlotte enabled Julie to "be my true self outwardly for the first time". She revealed: "I came out to my son first and he was absolutely great with it. "Both my parents were lovely. My dad said 'well it's about time because I've always known'. "Just before I walked down the aisle, my dad pulled me back and said 'you don't have to do this, I know this isn't you'. I said 'don't be silly, let's get on with it'." Julie visited Pontypool for a weekend in January 2017, and the couple travelled back and forth to see one another for a period. Everything was progressing smoothly, but both had significant considerations before Julie relocated to live with Charlotte in May of that year. Charlotte explained: "I didn't want to be the other person in Julie's marriage. "We wanted to be respectful to her husband. "I basically gave Julie an ultimatum and told her to speak to him before we took things further." Julie added: "I didn't want to progress any further until I had spoken to him. We both agreed that it was the right thing to do. "The news about my sexuality was new for him. I told him our marriage hadn't been working for the past 10 years and it was best for us to move on." Despite the notable age gap between them, there was no criticism from relatives and friends when they decided to live together. Julie said: "There were three important people in my life who I had to tell about Charlotte - my son and my parents. "All three of them were absolutely amazing. My son was proud of me for being my true self and he and Charlotte get on great." The duo have faced challenging periods together, particularly when Charlotte's mum, step-mum and gran all passed away within 12 months of one another during the Covid pandemic. "I wouldn't have got through it if it wasn't for Julie," Charlotte said. The pair document their relationship on social media and, whilst the majority of responses are supportive, some question their romance. Charlotte said: "We do have negative comments. It's not often. Everyone's entitled to their opinion but I don't like when they try to push their opinions on someone else. "We've had the odd few comments of 'is that your mum?', 'that's disgusting', or 'you were groomed'. "Someone said 'there's another young girl seduced by an older woman'. I replied and joked 'actually, I seduced her'." Online critics label Charlotte as having 'mummy issues', a concept that confuses her as she maintains she behaves older than Julie. Charlotte stated: "I moved out at 19 and I was very mature at that age. Even before I met Julie, I was the designated driver when I went out. "I'd socialise with people in their 50s and 60s. I was very old-fashioned for my age and I still am. "There's a lot of negativity towards age-gap couples. "People throw around the word 'grooming' but as long as you're of adult age, I don't see the problem. "Obviously, there are going to be people that don't agree with it. But we've been together for nine years and we're still going strong. I probably love her more than the first day I met her."
