'I was 18 when I found my soulmate – it doesn't matter that he was 41'

Age is just a number to many. However, most people would draw the line somewhere and realise that a huge age gap can cause relationship issues.

This can be easier said than done if you click with someone and they make you happy, though. And of course, if you're both consenting adults, their age would probably become irrelevant.

Ellie Liptrot posted a get ready with me video while she explained how she met her "44-year-old boyfriend", as someone had requested a "story time" in a comment of another TikTok clip.

Ellie regularly posts social media content about being a stepmum to her boyfriend's kids, despite the fact that she's just 21 - but fans tell her that she "seems content" and "as long as you're happy that's all that matters".

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She said that she and Mark, her partner, first met in December 2021 when she was 18 and he was 41. The pair are now 21 and 44 respectively. Ellie explained that she and a friend were on a Christmas night out and her friend text someone she knew asking to take them for food.

Then, in an unusual turn of events, they ended up with Mark's number, and he initially "blanked" the pair, but ended up picking the pair up but they didn't get back "until 7am" because Mark was "having the time of his life".

They "became a friend group" – consisting of Ellie, her pal, the friend who gave them Mark's number, and then Mark. They used to "do loads of things together". But then in March 2022, Ellie decided she "liked Mark a little bit more than a friend".

She detailed that they went to a lodge and claimed Mark kissed her, but they joked about the recollection of events and who was the catalyst for the relationship.

"I think I practically moved in with you [afterwards]", Ellie joked, and Mark sassed back saying: "It's called getting your feet under the table". Ellie then called him out for "acting all big and clever on TikTok".

Ellie then met Mark's kids in June 2022, and a week later they were all living together "full time". "If I hadn't been such a greedy girl that night and wanted food, I would never have met Mark", Ellie joked.

She then explained Mark used to own a smoothie shop in the "small town" they live in, saying they would've crossed paths at some point because when she "was a kid" she used to go into the shop he owned.

In the comments, someone claimed there were "so many red flags", but many defended the couple saying that "they're happy and have no problems at all".

Another wrote: "Slightly sketchy sounding meeting – but you seem happy together." Others in age-gap relationships related, with one woman sharing: "My husband is 16 years younger than me and he’s my world and it works"

"Some people forget the beauty about your own life is you can do as you please", someone penned.

Do you have a story to share? Email: danielle.wroe@mirror.co.uk

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