A woman who fell in love with a man 22 years her senior says it’s "not surprising" she went for an older man after admitting her teen crush was Robert Downey Jr. Sav Harrison, 24, met her now-husband, Mark, 46, on Tinder in 2017.
The pair hit it off when they bumped into each other on Sav's first night out when she turned 18 - after nine months of messaging each other. Mark let Sav stay over when she had nowhere to go at the end of the night – and sparks flew when they kissed.
The pair started officially dating in 2018 and say their relationship has been like “a fairy tale”. They tied the knot in February 2021 and now love sharing their relationship to give confidence to other “diverse couples”.
Family and friends struggled with the couple’s choice to be together at first – but now Sav’s mum has “fallen in love with Mark”. They are used to getting mistaken for father and daughter and being stared at in the streets, but say it “doesn’t bother them”.
Sav, who owns a digital agency, said: “It’s not surprising I married Mark really. At 12 years old my first crush was the actor Robert Downey Jr - who was 45 at the time.
“All my crushes were always older. Initially my mum freaked out about Mark and I, which was hard. But now she’s fallen in love with Mark.
“Whenever people look at us in the street, I don’t think they are staring because of the age gap I just think – ‘they must think we’re hot’. It doesn’t bother me anymore.”
Mark, who works for Sav as her account manager, said: “With Sav I never know what is coming up next. It’s a wild ride every day.
“We have fun in life. We’re in this relationship because we love each other. I’m not the sugar daddy by any means.”
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Sav and Mark spoke on and off for several months after matching on Tinder in 2017 before they bumped into each other on a night out.
Sav said: “We hadn’t planned to meet up. I was out clubbing for the first time and we bumped into each other.
“I ended up with nowhere to go at the end of the night so Mark offered for me to stay. I was hesitant, but it was the only option I had.”
Mark put Sav to bed and slept in the living room, but the pair shared a kiss when Sav left the following morning.
Sav said: “When we kissed, I knew he was the one. I could feel the chemistry.”
For the next year the couple met up regularly but kept their relationship to themselves as they knew it was “special”.
Sav, from Sydney, Australia, said: “I was a university student, so I didn’t want commitments. A year later we decided to give it a proper go and moved in together.”
Mark said: “It was the first time I had ever lived with a woman.”
The couple’s relationship went from strength-to-strength and they got engaged in late 2020 and married on February 20, 2021.
Sav said: “We were living in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, at the time and had gone to our favourite bistro. Mark just turned around and said - ‘ I think you should pick a date’.
“I picked a few and he would open his calendar and say ‘no that doesn’t work’. Finally, I randomly picked February 20, 2021, and we decided we get married then.”
Despite now being able to deal with hateful comments, the couple say they have suffered a fair few throughout their relationship.
Sav said: “We had to go through a fair bit of grief, but we have built our resilience. It can be upsetting that other people don’t get your love.
“Just the other day a shop assistant told my ‘father to hurry up’. I said ‘it’s my husband’ and she was apologetic and embarrassed. If it’s a genuine mistake it doesn’t bother me at all.”
Mark said: “Now we absorb the hate. We don’t care – we’re just having a great time.”
The couple now take pride in sharing their story to help other people feel comfortable in their relationships.
Sav said: “Telling our story is freeing others. We’re collecting a bunch of misfits who identify with us and represent people in diverse relationships. At the end of the day what really matters is the relationship itself and as long as you have love, trust and communication that’s all that counts.”
Sav and Mark hope to start a family in a few years' time – and are hoping to have a baby in 2025 so they can have the year of the snake.
Sav said: “Mark is year of the dragon and I’m year of the tiger. Year of the snake would be so cool.”
