A woman who married her boss despite a 19-year age gap says strangers constantly mistake her wife for her mum. Breyannah, 24, had a "major crush" on her manager, Michelle Henry-Dailey, 43, while they were working together at Sprouts Farmers Market in April 2018.
Breyannah didn’t act on her feelings but a year later, and after quitting her job at the farmers market, she spotted Michelle on a dating app in August 2019. The pair messaged and hit it off and moved in together just two months later. Michelle popped the question in May 2021 while on holiday in Hawaii and the couple tied the knot the following year.
The 19-year age gap has never bothered the couple or their families – despite Breyannah’s aunties, Jamie, 47, Jennifer, 42, Elizabeth, 40, and Jicole, 39, all being close in age to her wife.
The couple are used to being mistaken for mother and daughter by strangers but say they "laugh every time" and at any mean comments online.
Breyannah, a content creator, from Phoenix, Arizona, US, said: "I had a major crush on her, and she barely knew me. On my first day at Sprouts she’d been the teacher for orientation and then she ended up being my boss.
"I quit but a year later I found her on a dating app. I found her on Her first of all, but we didn’t match but then we matched on OkCupid and Michelle messaged me.
"I said – 'I remember you, you used to be my boss.' Now we joke and tease each other about it all the time.
"We got to lunch, and people will say 'Aww you took your mum to lunch'. Or the other day I was getting my car looked at and Michelle turned up and they said – 'Ah your mum's with you'. We laugh every time."
Breyannah first spotted Michelle when she taught her orientation at her first day of work.
A year later, Michelle ended up as Breyannah’s boss in April 2018, but nothing happened between the two of them and Breyannah quit her job in July of the same year.
The pair reconnected a year later in August 2019 after they matched on a dating app.
Breyannah said: "Michelle messaged me, and I told her we had worked together in the past. She didn’t know I was gay at the time. We moved in within two months."
Michelle added: "When we worked together it was only for a couple of months. When Breyannah told me that at the time, we did work together she had a crush on me - I had no idea."
Their relationship blossomed and Michelle proposed in May 2021 on Glass Beach, in Kauai, Hawaii.
Breyannah said: "All my friends said she was going to do it. She popped the question on Glass Beach and I said 'I knew it.' It was beautiful."
The pair tied the knot in February 2022 and now have two dogs – a black Labrador called Shay and a Golden Retriever called Sunny.
The couple are no stranger to hateful comments but don’t let them impact their relationship.
Breyannah said: "They say she’s grooming me. They don’t know what love is. I’m not a victim, it’s just love."
Michelle added: "I think people have a tendency to judge without first trying to understand or even see that there is nothing wrong with our love for each other.
"We met as adults, and it would be no different than any other two adults meeting and falling in love."
Breyannah says she naturally finds older people attractive and has a celebrity crush on actresses Sarah Paulson, 48, Sandra Bullock, 58, and Cate Blanchett, 53.
She said: "I find older people more attractive. I wasn’t seeking it but it just fell into place. Sarah Paulson is my celeb crush. Michelle pointed out that I have a thing for people with longer faces."
The happy couple plan to buy and RV and travel America with their dogs and love to spend their time going to festivals, trying new restaurants and getting outdoors.
Michelle said: "We did talk about the age gap and how and if it might be an issue but as soon as we talked and then spending time together, we never actually felt there was an age difference.
"We both just got along so well and really connected with other that even to this day it really doesn’t feel like there is an age difference."
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