Man, 64, who bonded with his 31-year-old wife over Taylor Swift insists they’ve never had an argument and have a great sex life despite their 34-year age gap
A couple with a 34-year age difference are still married after eight years – and claim they have ‘never had an argument’ and their sex life is ‘better than ever’.
Vann Thornton, 64, from Atlanta, Georgia met his wife, Courtney, 31, a photographer, when they were 56 and 22 years old. They married in July 2016.
Vann, a retired teacher and musician, said: “She is my best friend. In the almost nine years we’ve been together, we’ve never had an argument.
Courtney is ‘step-grandma’ to his four grandchildren and is only four years older than the youngest of them.
Vann also said their sex life is better than ever, but warns against all couples with a 30 year age difference who are getting married.
Courtney Thornton, then 25, married Vann Thornton, then 59, making him 34 years older than her (pictured at their wedding in July 2016)
Although the two are still as in love as ever, Vann emphasized that not everyone should consider getting married with such a big age difference, and if they do, they must have a lot in common.
Vann also claims that the two never argue, and that the closest the two have come to rowing has been through “tense” conversations.
Vann said, “We just get along great. We sit here together all day, every day. She does her stuff, I do my stuff and we sit down and talk.
“That’s not to say we’re not upset, but we’ve never had anything other than a tense argument.”
“We are better today than when we met. I love her more than when we went to bed. I just made her breakfast. I’m happy’.
Courtney added: “The fact that he has children and grandchildren doesn’t bother me at all. We are a match made in Heaven’.
The couple met when he helped her find musicians for an event. They bonded over their love of music and similar interests, and their relationship blossomed.
Courtney became stepgrandmother at the age of 26 to Vann’s four grandchildren – now aged 20, 17, 15 and seven – and says they jokingly call her ‘Grandma’.
However, Vann says he would caution couples with a 30-year age difference getting married.
‘I don’t recommend it to anyone. You must have something in common. I tell people that we didn’t go into this with the intention of falling in love and getting married.
After their marriage, at the age of 26, Courtney automatically became stepgrandmother to Vann’s four grandchildren – now aged 20, 17, 15 and seven – and says they jokingly call her ‘Grandma’.
Courtney gives a kiss to her husband Vann, who claims that sex doesn’t always get less exciting as she gets older
“I wasn’t looking for a 22-year-old and she wasn’t looking for a 56-year-old – we just clicked. I’m much happier with her than without her.’
Vann and Courtney have the same taste in music as Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Train and enjoy watching the same TV shows, such as The Office.
“We like a lot of the same things,” he said. “She grew up in a house where they watched old TV shows from the 1960s, which I grew up with – so if I refer to an old TV show, she knows what I’m talking about.
‘I’m totally a Swiftie. We love Reputation, we sang and danced in the living room.’
Vann also said their sex life is better than ever: “There’s a view that your sex drive decreases as you get older – it doesn’t have to,” he said.
Courtney decided she didn’t want to have children “in this economy” and Vann’s children from his first marriage — who are older than Courtney and in their 40s — “love her.”
“All four of Vann’s children completely accepted me as part of the family,” she said.
“I was 26 years younger than Vann’s eldest child, Billy, who is now 39, so I was surprised at how well they accepted me.
‘The key to our relationship is that we always communicate with each other, avoid arguments, and that we try to embrace each other’s age.
“I don’t think an age gap relationship is for everyone, but it suits us and I’m filled with happiness that I’ve finally found my forever soulmate.”
Vann added, “They love her. ‘[When Courtney met them] it was a bit strange: my kids are in their 40s. There was never an argument.’
Vann, a retired teacher turned musician, holds a saxophone as Courtney sits on his lap. The two met through their shared love of music when he helped her find musicians for an event
They owe their strong bond to their shared interests, which include listening to artists Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Train, and watching The Office
The two say that good communication is also one of the main reasons why their relationship works so well
Courtney’s father is the same age as Vann, to which Vann says he doesn’t care.
Vann said, “You don’t have to like the same things, but you have to be able to see things from the other person’s perspective.
“Don’t be her father. You have the barrier of a time difference of more than 30 years in which she was not alive and I was.
‘For me it’s the same as coming out as gay, celibate or wanting to become a priest: there’s a stigma attached to it.
“Life is too short to worry about what other people think.”