A woman who is dating a man 34 years old than herself has shared how they fell in love and told followers she's no gold digger.
Speaking on Youtube's Love Don't Judge, Ronyea Keyaira, 27, and Ray, 61, from Illinois, say they regularly get trolls commenting on their posts, but they try their best to ignore the comments and enjoy their life.
Ray, a self-employed businessman, spotted Ronyea, a model and artist, online after she posted that she likes older men.
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He said: "Ronyea’s profile said that she liked older guys, and I'm like well shoot your shot, dude. She's real pretty." They struck up a friendship when Ronyea was 19 and Raynaldo was 53, and soon realised they had a lot in common.
"We found out that we really connected with family, I'm big with family. He already has a family with kids," Ronyea said. Despite their happiness, the pair have received judgement in-person and most notably online for their 34-year age gap.
"People say I'm a gold digger because of our 34-year-old age gap," she told the podcast. "They all say, 'you know he's going to die soon'. People say that I'm a bed wench."
Ray's two eldest daughters are 22 - five years younger than Ronyea. He admitted that his kids were not 'as accepting' and were very 'standoffish' at the beginning.
But they have now warmed to her. Ray is also 16 years older than Ronyea's mum. They said 'everything was a test at the start' and they had to keep proving their feelings to family and friends.
Ray eventually asked Ronyea's mother for permission before he proposed because her blessing was so important.
"They mostly attack like our date night pictures. It's clear from the pictures that we have a good, solid, fundamental relationship. For a lot of people, it's like, oh well I have to hate on that, I can't accept that," Ray said.
Trolls also comment on the fact that their relationship is interracial, "we get a lot of people upset that we didn't choose within our race. People were saying that I am a bed wench," Ronyea said. "That I'm a gold digger, that I'm such a disgrace because I chose an older white man. They say I'm only with him for his money." Whereas for Raynaldo "trolls say that I'm with her only for her looks," he explained. These kinds of comments can sometimes get to Ronyea. Still, she is "trying to realise that everybody's going to have an opinion about something, you can't help it."
They are now planning to have kids of their own. Ronyea said: "You have to put yourself first and cut out the negative comments. As long as you're not hurting anybody and you're not hurting yourself then I think you should just go for it."
Amassing thousands of likes, people were very supportive of the match. One person wrote: "He’s actually a handsome guy and she’s beautiful. The only thing I wish for them is happiness. If you meet someone that treats you right, that’s all that’s matters. Some people hate because they don’t have what you have. I wish you two all the happiness in the world!"
Another said: "You don't need to say you're not a "Gold Digger" He's not saying he loves you because you 30 years younger. He's who he is because of his Financial status. Love each other and enjoy life. You don't need to JUSTIFY anything."
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