"We have a 27-year age gap and had our second child at 38 and 65 - I'm mistaken for kids' grandad."
- 29 days ago
A couple in a 27-year age gap have welcomed their second child at the ages of 38 and 65 - and say dad is often mistaken for the baby's grandad.
Gretchen Dillon, met her husband, Michael, in her local supermarket in October 2014.
Striking up a friendship, the pair soon realised they had romantic feelings for each other and started dating in May 2015.
Despite the almost three-decade age difference, Gretchen couldn't deny how she felt about Michael and the pair married in February 2018.
They welcomed their first son, Shannon, aged two, in October 2021, and had their second little boy, Galen, six months, in August 2023.
Gretchen, a systems security manager, from Syracuse, New York, US, said: "Michael couldn't wait to be a father again.
"He already had one child and another stepchild from a previous relationship and I think his age makes him a better father.
"He can't be as physically active with our little ones, but he still loves monkeying around with little Shannon.
"But he's more like a grandad because he has so much more patience."
Michael added: “People think I’m their grandad all the time but I just laugh it off.”
After meeting at a petrol station outside a supermarket, the pair quickly found themselves bumping into each other around different areas of the store and hit it off.
Gretchen had just moved from Pennsylvania, US, to Syracuse, New York, and was thankful to find a friendly face in Michael, an insurance adjuster.
Michael - who is two years older than Gretchen's mum - offered Gretchen a free room and job to help run his Airbnb in January 2015.
Before long their friendship developed into romance and they started dating in May.
Michael's friends thought it was odd when he told them he was dating a woman who was 27 years his junior but as soon as they met Gretchen they could see the pair were a great match.
He said: "I had friends that got mad at me, I had hired Gretchen to manage the Airbnb.
"I had a friend that said 'don't mess around' but the relationship happened so naturally.
"I would come home and sit with Gretchen and we would talk and talk.
"We had a wonderful relationship that continues to this day."
Michael proposed to Gretchen twice - the first time in front of his family in their home in Washington D.C., US during Thanksgiving 2017.
Gretchen said: “I told him I didn’t want a big show and I didn’t want a ring - he presented me with a literal diamond rock, not on a ring.
"I was so upset that he thought he could propose to me on a technicality, I said no on principle in front of his family.
“I cried the entire next day, we had to talk a lot.
"He proposed to me the second time on a sunrise kayaking trip in Florida, so I accepted.”
After dating for three-and-a-half years, the pair got married in February 2018 and decided to have a baby together.
Gretchen said: "I did have a friend who tried to put off the wedding saying 'you're going to be a widow.'
"I chose to cut her out of my life."
Gretchen Dillon, met her husband, Michael, in her local supermarket in October 2014.
Striking up a friendship, the pair soon realised they had romantic feelings for each other and started dating in May 2015.
Despite the almost three-decade age difference, Gretchen couldn't deny how she felt about Michael and the pair married in February 2018.
They welcomed their first son, Shannon, aged two, in October 2021, and had their second little boy, Galen, six months, in August 2023.
Gretchen, a systems security manager, from Syracuse, New York, US, said: "Michael couldn't wait to be a father again.
"He already had one child and another stepchild from a previous relationship and I think his age makes him a better father.
"He can't be as physically active with our little ones, but he still loves monkeying around with little Shannon.
"But he's more like a grandad because he has so much more patience."
Michael added: “People think I’m their grandad all the time but I just laugh it off.”
After meeting at a petrol station outside a supermarket, the pair quickly found themselves bumping into each other around different areas of the store and hit it off.
Gretchen had just moved from Pennsylvania, US, to Syracuse, New York, and was thankful to find a friendly face in Michael, an insurance adjuster.
Michael - who is two years older than Gretchen's mum - offered Gretchen a free room and job to help run his Airbnb in January 2015.
Before long their friendship developed into romance and they started dating in May.
Michael's friends thought it was odd when he told them he was dating a woman who was 27 years his junior but as soon as they met Gretchen they could see the pair were a great match.
He said: "I had friends that got mad at me, I had hired Gretchen to manage the Airbnb.
"I had a friend that said 'don't mess around' but the relationship happened so naturally.
"I would come home and sit with Gretchen and we would talk and talk.
"We had a wonderful relationship that continues to this day."
Michael proposed to Gretchen twice - the first time in front of his family in their home in Washington D.C., US during Thanksgiving 2017.
Gretchen said: “I told him I didn’t want a big show and I didn’t want a ring - he presented me with a literal diamond rock, not on a ring.
"I was so upset that he thought he could propose to me on a technicality, I said no on principle in front of his family.
“I cried the entire next day, we had to talk a lot.
"He proposed to me the second time on a sunrise kayaking trip in Florida, so I accepted.”
After dating for three-and-a-half years, the pair got married in February 2018 and decided to have a baby together.
Gretchen said: "I did have a friend who tried to put off the wedding saying 'you're going to be a widow.'
"I chose to cut her out of my life."