I'm 28, He’s 70 - And It's Not For A 'Green Card' | LOVE DON'T JUDGE
ACKIE, 28, met David 70, on an internet dating site in 2016 while he was travelling in the Philippines, her native country. They went on several dates before David returned to his country, the United States. Three months later he went back to the Philippines and resumed his courtship of Jackie. They married in 2018 and live together in Oakland, California. Jackie created a TikTok account during the COVID lockdown, and sharing their lives online brought scrutiny of their 42-year age gap relationship, including the criticism that it was “so wrong on many levels.” There were claims that Jackie was a “gold digger” or that she married only to obtain a green card. David has been called “Grandpa” and it was claimed that he married Jackie only by purchasing her companionship. The couple tend to brush off negative comments and David stated that “overall we’ve received very positive judgements.” Jackie and David use TikTok as a potentially positive tool, hoping that their relationship provides hope and inspiration to viewers. David added: “If two people love each other if they want to go through life together, age is just a number.”
Follow the couple here -
https://www.facebook.com/jacquelinema...
www.tiktok.com/@dave_jackie2818 / @jackieepstein5
Follow the couple here -
https://www.facebook.com/jacquelinema...
www.tiktok.com/@dave_jackie2818 / @jackieepstein5
Transcript
00:00 This is 28-year-old Jackie.
00:02 She fell in love with...
00:05 70-year-old David.
00:09 We are in love.
00:11 And there are 42 years between us.
00:15 The couple met in the Philippines seven years ago
00:18 and got married after Jackie moved to the US.
00:21 We found each other and we hope that others who watch us on TikTok
00:29 draw hope and inspiration from them.
00:32 But not everyone believes their happiness and love is genuine.
00:36 We received a number of negative comments.
00:39 "What are you doing, Grandpa?" with her.
00:42 I am a gold digger.
00:43 A green card digger.
00:45 My family was...
00:47 Yeah, it's great.
00:52 It's hot but it's not too hot.
00:56 My name is David and I'm 70 years old.
00:59 My name is Jackie. I'm 28 years old.
01:02 We are in love.
01:03 And there is a 42-year age gap between us.
01:07 I'm retired.
01:11 Jackie has a job.
01:14 At our local drugstore.
01:16 And we've been together for more than six years.
01:21 We met in October of 2016 when I was in the Philippines.
01:27 I was using a dating site.
01:30 One day I saw your profile.
01:33 I practically jumped out of my chair.
01:35 I was so impressed by what I saw.
01:38 I got his message and was like, "Okay."
01:41 And we met.
01:43 We met for the first time in person at a Starbucks.
01:48 It was fun.
01:49 It was fun.
01:50 I did not review his profile.
01:53 I don't have an idea how he looks like.
01:56 Maybe that worked to my advantage that you didn't know what I looked like
02:00 before we met for the first time.
02:02 But it all worked out in the end.
02:04 After like two or three days, we met again.
02:11 It was fun.
02:12 I can tell that he's really gentleman.
02:14 He's really nice.
02:15 We got together two or three more times before I returned to the United States.
02:21 You were 21 at the time and I was 63 at the time.
02:26 No, age wasn't a big factor in my search.
02:29 It just happened to be that in Jackie's case, she happened to be much younger than me.
02:34 But again, her profile was so appealing that I just had to go for it.
02:37 Then it was in January 2017 that I returned to the Philippines.
02:43 It was during that second trip to the Philippines where I
02:46 proposed to you and thankfully you said yes.
02:50 Right.
02:53 And then I think it was in October when you actually received the visa.
02:57 Yes.
02:58 And then came to the United States and then got married in February of...
03:02 2018.
03:03 Yes.
03:04 This is my wedding dress.
03:08 When I wear this dress on my wedding day, I feel like I'm happy with the dress
03:15 and then I'm happy with the person that I'm married.
03:19 Our wedding day was fun.
03:21 It was the best day of my life.
03:23 My parents and my siblings couldn't make it here because they're in the Philippines.
03:30 Dave's friends and sister-in-law was here so I was okay about it.
03:34 My family was...
03:36 They are very supportive and my friends also, yes.
03:44 I won't regret when I marry Dave because he's a really nice man.
03:49 He loves me.
03:50 He respects me so he's the best.
03:54 So we are both age gap.
03:57 I didn't have any problem at all.
03:59 I had concerns about the age gap but it wasn't from my perspective.
04:05 It was from Jackie's perspective.
04:07 So when I was courting Jackie, I would constantly remind her about the age gap
04:14 and I would remind her that I'm older than her parents.
04:18 You know, every time we got together, especially at the beginning,
04:21 I would say to Jackie, "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"
04:24 And every time, without hesitation, Jackie would answer, "Yes, I do."
04:30 Wow, your wedding dress.
04:35 You look as beautiful today as you did back then.
04:38 That's great.
04:40 I go back to Philippines at least once a year.
04:43 She's been here now almost six years
04:46 and she's made a wonderful adjustment to life in the United States
04:49 and I think part of that stems from the fact that she likes it here.
04:52 These photos are priceless.
04:54 Gosh, everything came off just perfectly that day.
04:57 Took a lot of courage on her part to make the move.
05:02 She was leaving the only life that she ever knew.
05:04 She was leaving her family and friends
05:07 and that took a lot of courage and spoke a lot about her.
05:11 At the time, my mother was still alive.
05:14 She really loved you.
05:15 I know. That's why she gave me this ring.
05:17 This ring that was a family heirloom.
05:20 This has been passed down through the years.
05:22 Now it sits on your finger.
05:24 I think this is older than me.
05:26 Yes, probably older than me too.
05:28 You're the best, love.
05:32 Jackie, do you remember when you first saw my late father's LP collection?
05:41 Yeah.
05:42 It just blew your mind.
05:44 It's a lot.
05:45 It's amazing because I haven't seen this in my life.
05:50 So when I saw it, I was amazed.
05:52 It was a lot.
05:52 What do you call the thing that you're going to play with this?
05:56 It needs a needle.
05:58 I'll save this for one minute, okay?
06:02 Okay.
06:02 I'll do five seconds, then I'll back out.
06:04 You do five seconds and back out, then we'll do it together.
06:07 Yes, sir.
06:08 At first, I made a video online just for fun during the lockdown.
06:13 But last year, we decided to upload more videos of us together
06:20 to inspire other people who are in age gap relationships.
06:25 I think this is going to take a little bit of editing.
06:34 I think that was probably better.
06:39 Good.
06:41 It's been a very interesting experience, to say the least.
06:47 That was a good video, Jackie.
06:49 I'll pause now.
06:55 Overall, we've received very positive judgments.
07:01 That's not to say that every comment that comes in is positive.
07:05 That's not the case.
07:07 So wrong on many labels.
07:09 He's my sugar daddy.
07:12 They're using each other for their own personal gain.
07:15 A green card digger.
07:16 I am a gold digger.
07:18 Bonnie is green, and so are green cards.
07:21 What are you doing, Grandpa, with her?
07:24 Lucky Grandpa.
07:25 Some of the negative comments are kind of clever.
07:30 And I'm not that really affected because it's not true.
07:34 I know myself, you know, that I'm not a gold digger.
07:38 Right.
07:39 I pay most of the bills, but Jackie has a job.
07:44 To support my family.
07:46 To support her family.
07:47 And I'm so happy to have you as my wife.
07:51 I'm so happy to be your husband.
07:53 My life has improved dramatically since we met each other.
07:58 I just couldn't be happier.
07:59 Thank you.
08:01 If the two people love each other, if they want to go through life together,
08:07 age is just a number.
08:09 Something great happened to Jackie and I.
08:13 We found each other despite long odds against that happening.
08:18 He's honest.
08:20 He's thoughtful.
08:21 He's very smart.
08:22 He's the best.
08:23 Thank you.
08:32 Thank you.
08:32 Thank you.
08:43 [BLANK_AUDIO]