I MARRIED A WOMAN HALF MY AGE

It took Sue McGeachy-Irwin, 68, decades to realise the truth

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Looking into the eyes of the man I'd shared half my life with, I took a deep breath. 'There's something I need to tell you,' I began.

It was October 2022 and we'd been married since 1985, and had a beautiful daughter, Jeanne, then 32. Over the past three decades, we'd been through highs and lows, love and loss. We'd built a wonderful life together, and I didn't regret a second, but now, it was time to be true to myself. 'I want a divorce,' I continued.

He looked at me almost knowingly, and said, 'I respect your decision.'

Although it was sad that our relationship had come to an end and everything was about to change, I felt a huge sense of relief.

When the world had shut down due to Covid-19 in 2020, being stuck at home had given me time to reflect. I'd always felt different, and although I tried to squash my feelings, I never felt truly comfortable with who I was.

INSTANT BOND

In an effort to connect with the outside world, I'd joined an online community of Star Trek fans. I'd been a fan since 1966, and when I won a competition for a Zoom call with Kate Mulgrew, who played Captain Kathryn Janeway, I posted about it on the group. Soon after, I got a private message from a woman called Heather. 'That's amazing, I'm such a big fan of hers,' she said. We started sending long messages discussing the show. Despite a five-hour time difference between the UK, where Heather lived, and the USA, where I was, it felt like there was an instant connection. We shared the same hobbies and interests and we were both married, with daughters. But while Heather was 32, I was double her age, at 64. '