Man who was 17 when he married 71-year-old after meeting at her son’s funeral pays gushing tribute to his ‘baby doll’ on her 80th birthday

A man who married his friend’s mother as a teenager, weeks after meeting at her son’s funeral, has paid lavish tributes to his older wife on her 80th birthday.

Gary Hardwick, now 26, and his Walmart worker wife Almeda, 80, from Tennessee are no strangers to controversy, and even have a joint OnlyFans that sells explicit content to their subscribers.

And it seems their passion continues to grow, with Gary describing Almeda as his ‘babydoll’ and his ‘queen’ in an emotional birthday tribute to mark her milestone.

The complete Instagram post said: ‘Happy birthday to the most amazing woman in the world. Today is not only your day, but most importantly, today is about celebrating the birth of such an amazing and genuine woman with such a heart of gold.

“I am the luckiest husband for every day I get to wake up next to you. You make me the happiest man every day and I always want to make you the happiest woman.

Gary Hardwick was just 17 when he married Almeda, a Walmart worker, just two weeks after they first met at her son’s funeral and then again at a children’s birthday party

“You deserve the world and until my dying breath I will work hard to give you that. All my happiest moments are moments I share with you. I hope today you have the best birthday ever and I hope you enjoy all your surprises, my love.

“You are truly the love of my life and I love you with every beat of my heart. Here’s to celebrating my queen. Happy birthday babydoll’.

Gary, in his mid-20s, also prepared some wine-soaked salmon for the senior – and treated her to some wine to celebrate the occasion.

Gary was just 17 when he married Almeda in a $200 ceremony, two weeks after they first met at her son’s funeral and then again at a children’s birthday party.

Despite raising eyebrows over their relationship, Almeda has insisted it is true love and that her husband is mature beyond his years.

Meanwhile, Gary has opened up about their sex life, saying: ‘The first time we made love was on our wedding night. It was a great experience. There was such a deep connection there. She’s a great lover’.

Since then, they’ve had their share of TikTok videos reporter, with Gary explaining, “We removed some of our content, it was reported for ‘sexually explicit content.’

A year after their big day, the Hardwicks admitted that many people don’t agree with their relationship, including Almeda’s son, who hasn’t spoken to her since the day she met Gary.

The Tennessee couple, who are no strangers to controversy, also have a joint OnlyFans that sells explicit content to their subscribers – and have even had some TikToks reported for their adult nature

The Tennessee couple, who are no strangers to controversy, also have a joint OnlyFans that sells explicit content to their subscribers – and have even had some TikToks reported for their adult nature

Aaron and Indiana Elliott, two of Almeda’s six grandchildren, also found it difficult to accept their relationship, especially Aaron, who is three years older than his step-grandfather.

Aaron said, “I only called him grandpa once and that was when I was drunk. In my mind I see him more as a friend than a grandfather. But you know, our grandmother is happy.”

Indiana, 17, added: “How can you not support that?

“For me personally, it was a little weird when they first got together. But I mean, we live in the 21st century and those things really shouldn’t matter.

‘My mother, on the other hand, is very open, because you know there is also an age difference between him and my mother. So it’s a bit strange to see your mother walking around with someone the same age as your own children.’