Grandma, 50, mistaken as 22-year-old boyfriend’s mother

There’s 28-years between them but despite the fact they’re engaged to be married, strangers often mistake them as mother and son.

A grandmother-of-three has revealed how she’s regularly mistaken as her fiancé’s mother.

Sharon Hawkins, 50, met Perry Hopstein, 22, on Tinder in January last year – and despite a whopping 28 years age gap, the pair are planning to marry this year. Sharon, a schoolteacher from North Carolina in the US, said that while she’s “old enough to be Perry’s mother” she’s not going to let that get in the way of their happiness.

“Perry and I know we’re meant to be together and we don’t care what other people think,” the grandmother said. “Even though we have such a large age gap, Perry is an old soul. “We have a deep connection.” The pair met on Tinder after Sharon – who divorced her husband of 16 years in 2015 – lowered her age bracket on the dating app to 19.

Sharon Hawkins, 50, met her much younger boyfriend on Tinder last year. Picture: Hot Spot MediaSource:HotSpot Media

Despite him being younger than her three kids who are all in their twenties, she said she was attracted to Perry’s “model” looks – and insists he “didn’t care” she was a grandmother. “My ex-husband, who was a similar age to me, was great at first but in time we grew apart,” she said. “In the last year of our relationship, I found myself stealing glances at men in their 20s whenever we went out. “I vowed to find someone more suited to my spontaneous personality.” Years later Sharon matched with the Royal Marine who she said was “even sexier in real life”. Initially the pair had doubts about their age gap but eventually they became a couple. “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Perry moved in with me straight away,” she said. “It was fast, but I was the happiest I’d ever been and it just felt right. “My friends all called me a cougar, it was hilarious.” Sharon admits “sexually, mine and Perry’s age gap was a kink” but states their relationship isn’t just about their bedroom antics.

“He was romantic too, surprising me with hot oil massages and filling the house with red rose petals constantly,” she said. “He made me feel so special.”

Coming clean to Perry’s mum, who is the same age as Sharon, was a hurdle for the pair. “Perry lied and told her I was in my 40s, not wanting to give her too much of a shock,” she said. “Then, eventually, I met her and much to my relief, she welcomed me with open arms. “She said she could tell how happy I made Perry. “I was so relieved she’d accepted me into the family.” Perry has since met Sharon’s kids and grandkids too, saying they “hit it off”.

But since they went public with their romance, Sharon and Perry began receiving “dirty looks” from strangers. “It was really weird at first but we soon began to laugh it off,” Sharon said. “Then one day, we were out shopping and I gave Perry my bank card to pay for something while I rummaged through my handbag. “The cashier said, ‘You can’t let your son use your card.’ “Perry and I tried not to laugh. “Perry has such a sweet baby-face, it wasn’t her fault.”

Sharon is regularly mistaken as her now fiance’s mum. Picture: Hot Spot MediaSource:HotSpot Media Sharon said people are constantly confusing Perry for her son whenever they go dinner or out shopping. “After a while, we made it a personal joke of ours where Perry would tell me to stop mothering him whenever I told him to do something,” she said. Now, the couple are engaged and are planning to get married this year. “I don’t care about a silly number,” she said. “It’s the person who Perry is that I fell so deeply in love with.”