May-December romances between older white men and younger Filipino women are not exactly rare, and plenty of people have doubts about such relationships. But 27-year-old Jackie and 69-year-old Dave say they are madly in love and don’t care what the haters say.
The husband-and-wife duo, who have been married for five years, has gained a following online thanks to their TikTok account, which regularly features videos of them doing dance covers or giving glimpses into their life in the United States.
@dave_jackie2818 #bisayangtiktoker #agegaprelationship #agegapcouple #husbandandwife #ageisjustanumber #pinayinusa🇵🇭🇺🇸 ♬ Gomy Gomy Gomy – iconicfatma
But their account quickly attracted plenty of trolls as well. Many insist that Jackie, who hails from Cebu, is only after Dave’s money.
“Don’t worry sweetheart, give it five years and his house will be all yours,” one TikTok user wrote to her.
“Notice all these older gentlemen have money and end up with really young girls,” another commented.
“Watch your wallet, Dave,” another wrote.
Rather than retreating from such accusations, the couple has made plenty of videos satirizing them instead.
@dave_jackie2818 Repost #agegaprelationship #ageisjustanu #husbandandwife #agegap ♬ original sound – Dave and Jackie
In reply to a comment that said Jackie was only after money and a green card, the couple posted a video where Dave hands his wife pieces of green cards and some peso bills, saying, “Now she has everything she wants!”
@dave_jackie2818 Reply to @t55t5570 #bisayangtiktoker #ageisjustanumber #pinayinusa🇵🇭🇺🇸 #husbandandwife ♬ original sound – Dave and Jackie
He asks her, “Are you happy with that?” to which she answers “Yes.”
Other times they’ll respond to hate comments simply by posting videos of themselves happily spending time together.
@dave_jackie2818 UC BERKELEY Botanical Garden #agegapcouple #agegaprelationship #husbandandwife #ageisjustanumber #pinayinusa🇵🇭🇺🇸 #bisayangtiktoker ♬ Grow Old with You – Adam Sandler
In one Tiktok, Dave shared that he met Jackie through an internet site called Cherry Blossoms, after he noticed her profile and sent her a message.
Dave was visiting Cebu at the time and asked Jackie to meet at Starbucks, after which they went to Jollibee for lunch.
“Jackie was a little bit shy back then, and she was tired because she was just coming off working the graveyard shift at work,” Dave shared. “During that very first lunch date, I ended up doing 95 percent of the talking and Jackie did 95 percent of the listening, but still you could feel there was enough of a connection to want to get together again.”
He added that they met up a few more times before he returned to the States. Eventually, they decided to get married, and Jackie moved to the U.S. to be with him.
While there are still plenty of critical comments on their videos, many of their followers defend the couple’s relationship and say people had no right to judge them.
“That is unfair, she is very sweet and they both seem genuinely happy in each other’s company. I wish them the best,” one said.
“I think you guys are so sweet. Big age different, so what? You both look very happy and that what counts. Keep posting!” another person encouraged.
“Both of you seem caring, kind and really sweet… I see why you fell for each other,” another chimed in.
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