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I dumped my boyfriend at 17 for a 44-year-old man older than my DAD – and two years on our sex life is amazing

Teenager Avalon Garvey, of Bradford, West Yorkshire, and Doug Traser, of California, USA, are madly in love

A TEENAGER has revealed how she broke up with her 17-year-old boyfriend for a man OLDER than her dad – and she insists their sex life is “extravagant”.

Avalon Garvey, now 19, was in sixth form in Bradford, West Yorkshire, when she first met older man Doug Traser, from San Francisco, California, in an online forum in June 2016.

 Doug and Avalon met online in 2016
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Doug and Avalon met online in 2016Credit: Doug Traser

At 44, Doug, was 29 years her senior – and older than her own dad.

But, despite their age difference, the pair immediately hit it off, discussing their love of music.

Avalon, currently studying her first year of fine art at university in York, North Yorkshire, said she was seeing someone her own age when she first met Doug.

“For three years I had seen this person, but I wasn’t really into it and so I eventually ended things with this boyfriend,” she explained.

 The couple are madly in love
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The couple are madly in loveCredit: Doug Traser

“It was going down a rocky path. It was very difficult to tell them I wasn’t seeing them anymore.”

Doug, who works in IT, was honest about his age and location – around 8,500 miles from Bradford.

“When I first messaged him, he confronted me with his age and straight away and told me he had kids,” she explained.

“So, I did know about his age straight away, but it was never intended to be anything but a friendship.

“We were just looking for some kind of escape."

 Avalon have visited California, where Doug lives
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Avalon have visited California, where Doug livesCredit: Doug Traser
 The couple have also visited the UK, where Avalon is from
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The couple have also visited the UK, where Avalon is fromCredit: Doug Traser

She continued: “But we just found each other, and now – here we are, years later, and so happy.”

A few months after they began chatting online, Doug flew to Leeds, West Yorkshire, where he met 17-year-old Avalon.

For Avalon, it was love at first sight – and they had sex for the first time on that trip.

“I knew I loved him as soon as I saw him, she explained.

 Doug has been out with Avalon's university friends
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Doug has been out with Avalon's university friendsCredit: Doug Traser

“I was 17. 16 was the age you could legally have sex, so it was completely legal.”

And describing their sex life, she said: “When we are together it is extravagant, it is good.

“He knows what he is doing, I am happy.”

Now the couple meet every other month, with her flying to California and him to the UK.

 Twice divorced Doug was always open with Avalon about his age
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Twice divorced Doug was always open with Avalon about his ageCredit: Doug Traser

Her mum has met and likes him, and she has been introduced to his children from his two previous marriages, who are aged 24, 22, and 12.

“At first there was a lot of judgement,” she said. “At uni I didn’t know anybody and I decided I was going to be 100 per cent honest.

“I was going to say, ‘This is who I am, this is who I love.’ Now, I have the best friends, who accept it all.”

 Doug has been mistaken for Avalon's dad, who is younger than him
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Doug has been mistaken for Avalon's dad, who is younger than himCredit: Doug Traser

Happily, her friends at university have met and like Doug.

“They went on a night out, he was there and it wasn’t awkward at all,” she said.

But he has, on occasion, been mistaken for her dad.

“There was one time, we were in California, and I was giving a waitress a tip. She said ‘is that your dad?’

“But I don’t care what people think. It’s my relationship, it is not a random person’s relationship.

“I get stares and I will rub it in their face and give him a cuddle. I am happy so why does it matter what anyone else thinks?”

 Next year Avalon will study in America, which she thinks is "fate"
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Next year Avalon will study in America, which she thinks is "fate";Credit: Doug Traser

Next year, as part of her university course, Avalon will travel to study at Portland Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon, little more than an hour's flight from Doug.

She is looking forward to it. “It’s an amazing opportunity, but it seems like fate too,” she laughed.

Doug added: “We want the world to know that our relationship is something absolutely wonderful to us.”

Previously we told how a teenager married a pensioner two weeks after meeting her at a funeral - and said their sex life was fabulous.

And a 38-year-old woman had a baby with a  77-year-old - after he sneakily shed a decade off his age.

Julia Keys explains why she thinks large age gap relationships often don't last

 

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