Hannah Dickson, 23, says she’s always been attracted to older men, feeling strongly that boys her age were too ‘childish’ and only interested in ‘sticking [their] nose in games all day.’
So, when she fell in love with 57-year-old Chris Willingham, a man more than twice her age, Hannah made no apologies for their connection — using social media as a tool to showcase different kinds of love.
‘Don’t knock it till you try it,’ she jokes or her age-gap relationship. ‘Regardless of how old somebody is, you can have two people [the same] age come together and not be compatible.’
The couple first met at the gym, when Hannah approached fitness fan Chris for personal training sessions.
They started training together in February 2025 and quickly developed a close relationship, with Hannah starting to refer to their meetings as ‘therapy sessions.’
‘I sent him a text message saying I miss my therapy sessions when I was on a beach trip. The rest is kind of a blur, it happened so fast.’
It was then, when she returned from her trip, that the two become ‘a lot more personal and flirty.’
Hannah, who was previously in a two-year-long relationship with a man 32 years older than her, mentioned that the topic of age-gaps actually came up in conversation once.
‘Age difference was discussed one time in the sense that, would you rather have 20 good years with somebody versus 60 bad years with someone else,’ she explained.
And for Chris, it was clear that the two had an immediate connection: ‘We kind of hit it off, she was full of life and a free spirit. She would come in and we would have conversations about everything and anything.’
‘I get up at three o’clock every morning and that’s my cardio time and get ready for the day and walk the track at the local high school,’ Chris explained.
‘I told her “if you want to join me feel free” and I had no expectation she would come, but she did. She showed up every morning for a month, we would walk and talk for 45 minutes.’
Then, he decided to take a leap of faith: ‘I sent her a text message after a training session and said to meet me at the park. I sat in the passenger seat and I just went for it.’
By March the pair were official and have made it abundantly clear that they don’t care when people online refer to them as ‘father and daughter.’
Hannah noted: ‘My mum hasn’t met him yet but my dad has met him. I was in an age gap relationship prior so they are used to it. My dad met him at my cousin’s wedding and the whole interaction was good and positive.’
She continued: ‘As long as I’m happy and the person takes care of me it doesn’t matter to my parents, they’re not really judgemental about it.’
Despite only being together for eight months, the couple have discussed the possibility of freezing Chris’ sperm in case they decide they want to start a family in the future.
The 57-year-old already has a 14-year-old son who ‘loves Hannah to death’ and is the couples’ ‘biggest fan.’
But Hannah still isn’t sure if having a child of her own is what she wants.
For now, she’s enjoying being in a happy relationship. ‘I think the best thing about dating an older man is that he’s got goals and aspirations, he wants to go somewhere and he has a life,’ she says.
And in Chris’ eyes, Hannah’s brought a whole new lease of life to his universe: ‘She’s kind of shown me how to live, you spend your whole life operating within these boundaries of social norms and all of a sudden you wake up and your life has taken a turn for the worse.’
He continued: ‘You meet someone that’s a free spirit and you can start living and be the person you always wanted to be.’
One moment that stands out to the personal trainer is when the couple took a trip to Nashville and went out to club. Chris danced for the first time in 20 years, emboldened by Hannah’s energy and spirit.
‘We just connect,’ Chris concluded. ‘It’s a special relationship and we recognised that from the beginning.’
