TEACHER'S PET
I married my favourite school teacher – she’s 25 years older… people think she’s my MUM
It all started with a Facebook message after the former student was going through a divorce from her ex-hubby
A WOMAN who tied the knot with her TEACHER who's more 20 years older has claimed they're often mistaken for a mother and daughter duo.
Monica Ketchum, 32, got married to with Michelle Foster, who is 57, almost two decades after she left her classroom.
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The duo, from Michigan, the USA, first got back in touch after the self-confessed "teacher's pet" decided to reconnect with her beloved science teacher and dropped her a message Facebook in April 2020.
The two caught up on what had happened over the last 16 or so years and then arranged a lunch date to chat some more - before soon becoming close pals.
At the time, Monica was also going through a divorce from her hubby after she discovered she was, in fact, gay - and being a fellow member in the gay community, Michelle helped to navigate Monica through the situation.
"We were both in really dark places and finding someone you can relate to and be vulnerable with felt safe,'' the former student said.
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Over time, they both realised there was more to their friendship and soon pursued a romantic relationship that went beyond moral support.
Michelle filed for divorce from her wife in May 2022 and the couple - who dismissed any worries about their age gap - were engaged by that autumn and had two separate proposals for each other.
Love is love and we can love whoever we want
Monica Ketchum
However, being together and seen in public has also come with some strange looks from the public who oftentimes assume they're a mother and daughter duo - and one stranger even mistook Michelle for being Monica's nan.
“People ask, ‘Is that your mum?’ or even, ‘Is that your grandma?’ all the time,” Monica, a bus driver, revealed.
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“We learned to laugh or brush it off, but if you see me kissing her, why would you ask if she’s my mum?” she added.
In fact, Monica even designed a T-shirt that has 'No, she's not my mum' printed on it.
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Although at first, the loved-up couple found it difficult, they soon learnt to block and delete all the negatives - and instead, shift their focus towards the positives in their chapter.
The pair share their lives online because they want to "be open in the community which needs a voice".
The 32-year-old added that she didn't fall in love with her teacher years ago - and insisted that there was no relationship between the two of them apart from Michelle ''being a good teacher''.
Monica said: "We want to be where others come to find hope and light and safety or need a friend.
"We want to encompass everybody in a loving way and promote that love is love.
"We get a lot of harassment for our age gap, and we don't understand it.
''Age doesn't matter to us, so why does it matter to other people?
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"If I allow myself to sit there and think about it, I'll go insane - I try to let it go but it does hurt.
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