Later love MARRIAGE

These days, getting hitched when you are older has become surprisingly common

- KATE CHAPMAN

'Getting married never really interested me'

Megan Lomax, 55, is creative director of PACMAT picnic blankets, in Hackney, London, where she lives with her husband Guy, 58, and their children Eliza, 20, and George, 19.

I was 45 when I married Guy in 2015. We'd been together 24 years, had two children and ran a business together.

We met in 1991 at a party in south London. We played hard, worked hard and were happy as we were.

We felt there was no need for us to get married - we weren't religious or traditional. We bought a house together and moved in 1998, which was a big commitment.

My parents enjoyed a long marriage, as did my grandparents. I had plenty of hobbies, worked long hours and always had other things to spend my money on. Weddings are expensive, take so much organising and I hate being the centre of attention. Getting married never interested me, even though friends were doing it.

My sister had a big wedding in 2014. Our dad died unexpectedly the week before, which left us with mixed emotions. It was a fabulous day, but missing a very big personality.

When Guy and I met with our business accountant, he always asked if we were going to marry. He said if anything happened to either of us it would leave a financial mess for the kids; it was all down to paperwork. This went on for a couple of years, and after Dad passed away, I spent a lot of time helping Mum sort things out.

We didn't want the kids to lose out financially because we weren't organised, so we planned a small wedding; even some of our close friends didn't know.