A young Tanzanian man is dating a woman old enough to be his grandmother. George and Catherine Thomas stuck together despite backlash over their age gap. How did couple fall in love? Twenty-four-year-old George and Catherine Thomas, 80, defied the odds by showing that love triumphs over everything. However, their relationship faced opposition from family and society. According to Catherine, a mother of five, she felt lonely after her husband died. “I needed to feel loved.” George, a school dropout turned boda boda rider, would carry Catherine daily to her business. One rainy day, Catherine left a bag with TSh 6 million (KSh 380,000) with George after he ferried her home. “It was too late and rainy to return. I took it to the house the next day but didn’t find her.” Catherine said she had forgotten where she had left the money and left for a three-month trip the next day. “When I returned, he brought back the money, which is how he won my heart.” Catherine then approached George and asked him to start dating her. “It took a while to process it, and I said yes. Critics wonder why I love someone as old as my grandmother, but I don’t care,” he said. Catherine’s children could not understand why she would date someone younger than them, as her firstborn is 43 while the lastborn is 35. However, they are coming to terms with the age difference. George’s sister, Mary, said she was heartbroken to learn about the relationship. “I have started accepting it happened. The age gap is too much when someone is 50 years older than you. They are confusing love and madness,” Mary said. Society believes either George was bewitched or he wants Catherine’s possessions. “People will always try to destroy something good. My life without him would be meaningless,” the octogenarian said.
by William Osoro