This man said he would never marry again, then wed a girl 37 years younger



This man said he would never marry again, then wed a girl 37 years younger

The statistics on marriage and divorce are pretty dismal out there. Some relationships have red flags from the get-go, while others seem to be perfectly fine until one day something happens that shakes your world and your relationship in it. This very event happened to a man named Steve Zielinski, an Australian investor who counted his lucky stars when he was married to his first wife, only to be completely devastated at the end of their marriage. The divorce from his wife took a heavy emotional and mental toll on Steve, who told himself he was never going to marry again after the heartache he felt at the end of his marriage. However, there is a saying that you plan and the dude upstairs laughs, which is exactly what happened to Steve. He met Emily Charman in a local coffee spot and was a changed man as soon as he did. He is now once again a married man who cannot believe his luck with love. However, Steve and Emily’s marriage is not the most traditional one.

Chance meeting


True love usually comes your way when you do not plan for it. Relationships tend to find you rather than you finding them. This is exactly what happened for Steve and Emily.

The two of them did not imagine that they would be married to one another, but unlike most things in life, they tend to happen whether one likes it or not and it always works out even better than you imagined it if you let it.


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Business ventures


Steve is well known in his home country of Australia as he used to own one of the most renowned restaurants, Slic Chix. As the name implies, the restaurant served its food on clothless waitresses and therefore got quite a reputation. Steve ended up making big waves and big money through this business venture.

Unfortunately, a lot of the money that Steve had earned thanks to the restaurant went to his now ex-wife in their divorce proceedings. Steve’s reputation did not take a hit like his income luckily, but his heart was far from okay. It would take someone special to make things right again.
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Left with little


No one goes into a marriage thinking that they will divorce one day, at least most people do not. Steve’s divorce was not only a painful one, but it was also an expensive and incredibly prolonged affair. His divorce from his first wife took over a decade to finalize as the legal battle knew no end.

It got to a point where Steve saw his net worth dwindle to practically nothing. The legal fees alone cost him over $1.2 million and that did not include the settlement he eventually came to with his ex-wife that he needed to fork over.


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Chance meeting


After his divorce, Steve said he would never remarry as he was not even sure he could afford to do so if it once again did not end well. Needless to say, he was jaded. This all took place before he ever laid eyes on Emily Charman. These two love birds met at a coffee shop while Emily was visiting from her native England.

Back in England, Emily is a personal trainer who wanted a vacation. Emily was in Australia for one month at the time she met Steve, and it was meeting Steve that made her trip the most incredible.
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Taking it slow


Both Steve and Emily were not looking to take their relationship fast by any means. Steve was still reeling post-divorce and Emily was on vacation. They first became friends, talking over coffee and enjoying each others company. What ended up happening was that the more quality time they spent with one another, the faster they developed feelings.

All of this took place back in 2012, and the two realized they were a couple before they knew it. Now that so many years have passed, they can only say that their love has grown stronger. No one saw this couple coming, especially not them.
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Change of heart


Steve said he was not going to marry again, but when he met Emily and they got more and more serious, he started feeling his heart and mind shift. All the damage that Steve’s first wife did to his heart and mind seemed to disappear with the effect that Emily had on his life.

Steve was so in love that on February 13, 2018, Steve asked Emily to marry him. Emily, without hesitation, said yes!
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Dream wedding


On February 16, 2019, Steve and Emily married! Their day was a dream. Emily said that her wedding day was perfection from its beginning to its end. Emily said that the moment she said “I do” was the most emotional moment for her.

She was also humbled that her love for him broke down his wall about getting married again and that it happened so naturally for the two of them; this union was truly meant to be.
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Doubtful


There were many loved ones in both of their lives who were doubtful about this union working out. The biggest doubts were cast by Steve’s friends as a result of Emily’s age.

You see, there is a 37-year age gap between Steve and Emily. On the day that Steve met Emily he was 59 years old, she was a mere 22 years old at the time. That is indeed quite an age gap, but it seemed none existent to the couple.
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Age is just a number


Despite his friend’s reservations, Steve never worried about the age gap as he saw it as nothing but a number. He did not care that when he would be an older man in his 70s, she would be in her 40s.

All Steve focused on was how Emily made him feel, and all Emily focused on was how wonderful she felt around Steve; as it should be. Never did Emily think that Steve was too old for her.
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Nothing but love


Emily has nothing but love for her husband and has admitted that she did not see this union coming or imagine herself with someone older than her but that she counts her blessings that she met Steve and has never been happier than when she is with him.

She says he is exciting, adventurous and keeps their lives full of love and meaning. This is nothing short of a union made in heaven, for both of them.
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Older than mom


This may be one of the awkward moments but even so, not too bad. Steve is actually older than Emily’s own mother. Initially, for Emily, that was the only fact that was a little uncomfortable to her.

Once Emily and Steve were together for a while, though, Emily quickly forgot about that fact and only saw the man she loved. Emily’s mom seems to be completely cool with the union and the fact that he son-in-law is older than her.
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Similar to the kids


Just as Steve is close in age with Emily’s mother, so is Emily close in age with Steve’s children. It was without a doubt a transition for Steve’s two kids to have a stepmother who was close in age to them.

However, by the time the two married they were a couple for seven years, meaning that Steve’s kids had plenty of time to get used to the idea and bless the union that would make their dad happy.
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Picking right


While Steve’s friends were critical of his decision to marry someone so much younger than him, it is Steve who thinks that his friends are the one making the wrong decisions when it comes to their love lives.

Steve’s friends are well off men who choose their significant other based on looks and not for the feelings either party has for them. He believes he found the right woman who cares for him and not about his money.
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Money after love


The fact is, Steve does not have the money he used to thanks to his divorce. Emily knew his financial situation and fell in love with him anyway, proving that she is not the gold digger his friends were worried about her being.

Emily has her own career as a personal trainer and works to make her own income. Steve is by no means strapped for cash but he is not the incredibly wealthy man he used to be.
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Budget


Knowing that Steve was keeping his finances modest, Emily planned their wedding in a budget-friendly way so as to make sure that they got the most for their money but also did not have to worry about anything.

Emily planned the entire affair, she did not use any wedding planner in order to save money and knew exactly what she and Steve wanted from their special day so there was no one better to make their dream wedding a reality.
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Amazing event


The fact that Emily was on a budget did not mean that she did not use every penny wisely and put together an all-out event. The budget she had was still considered a nice one, just not a millionaires budget.

She used her budget to book Margaret River Secret Gardens, which is a very nice venue. She decided to be more budget-friendly with transportation, guest accommodations, and the drink options at the event itself.
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Blogger life


Since Emily met Steve while on vacation in Australia from England, she decided to stay for her love. She moved to Australia and decided to go down a new career path while she was at it.

She launched a vegan blog called Herbivore Chef, where she posts about the vegan lifestyle and shares her ideas and recipes for leading a life of veganism and health. Considering she is also a fitness instructor, it makes total sense.
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Personal blogging


Emily usually blogs about health and veganism, but she could not resist blogging about her upcoming nuptials and what she was doing to make her special day happen. She wrote about Steve’s proposal and wanted to give advice to other brides who were planning their wedding day.

Emily put her heart and soul into planning her wedding and writing about it made it that much more emotional. You can tell this lady was putting her heart on her sleeve.
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Vegan power


Being vegan, Emily knows that there is a notion out there that people think that vegan food is not as varied or tasty as other diets. Emily decided to make sure that the recipes she puts on her blog battle that notion and continues to make her blog a true career for herself.

She takes her writing very seriously and has worked her blog from a dream to an income. It is no easy feat, and she did it.
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Growing blogger


Emily’s blog has helped her garner over 14,000 followers on her Instagram account alone. There are many foodies and lifestyle aficionados who follow her for the tips and insight she brings to her blog.

She is the only one behind her blog and takes all the photos and prepares all the recipes she posts, which are all vegan. To think that Emily started out with nothing and worked her way to a successful blogging career!
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Bunnies


Another aspect of Emily’s vegan life is her love of animals and want to save them. Her personal passion is for bunnies. Emily adopted a large bunny rabbit named Smokey who she parents proudly and loves dearly.

She posted about the fact that people adopt bunnies for Easter and then neglect them, which she wants to combat and remind people of their value. She is a huge advocate for adopting versus shopping for animals.
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Committed woman


Emily is nothing if not committed to her vegan lifestyle. Everything in her life is vegan, from her food to her self tanner. She took to Instagram to post about her tan and how she uses a product that is vegan and incredible in her opinion.

Emily has a beautiful glow of a tan, so it is definitely going to get attention for the brand she was talking about. Living in Australia, one must be a tan goddess!
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New path for Steve


Steve also took a new path in his life – going into politics. His dream was not quite as successful as Emily’s as his old restaurant and the fact that the women were topless was not exactly a good news day for him.

Most importantly, though, Steve has Emily and Emily has Steve. Emily restored his faith in the institution of marriage and in love, and Steve provided Emily with all the love she could ever ask for.