WITH 25 years between them, couple Felicia and Adam Fredrickson are used to raised eyebrows but it’s not the age gap that has most concerned their loved ones. Talking of his ‘bad boy’ past, Adam has served time in prison and has a history of addiction before finally turning his life around. By the time he met Felicia, Adam was clean and volunteering with several rehab charities but his lengthy criminal record and jail time still alarmed Felicia’s parents. When the couple got married, the initial hope was that Felicia’s parents would be there on the day but it ended up being a small ceremony with just 16 guests – and without her parents. Felicia, 21, and Adam, 46, from Minnesota, hope to have a second bigger ceremony in October 2020. At the moment Felicia’s parents are not due to attend but Felicia is still in contact and they tentatively hope that the family can be reunited.
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00:00This is 21-year-old Felicia. She fell in love with 46-year-old Adam.
00:07But their relationship has not been met warmly by everyone.
00:10My parents do not like Adam. They do not like my relationship.
00:13He was exactly the guy my parents didn't want me to bring home.
00:17And the age gap isn't the only reason her parents were concerned about the relationship.
00:23I was a really bad boy. I've partied and been arrested. I have five felonies on my record.
00:29With their vow renewal ceremony on the horizon, can these two convince those who matter to them to accept their marriage?
00:36The small chance that my mom would show up I feel would be groundbreaking.
00:47Now for to show you how to make the Swedish cookies, yeah?
00:54I'm 46 years of age.
00:56And my age is 21.
00:59When we met, Adam was 44 and I was 19.
01:02There is 25 years separating our ages.
01:05Adam and Felicia met at a local fundraiser, immediately hitting it off.
01:10But not knowing just how many years separated them in age.
01:14We didn't start dating immediately. We'd already known each other about three weeks.
01:17When I found out that she was 19 and I was 44.
01:21I was like, I guess we'll be friends.
01:23Yeah, and that's when I was like, huh.
01:26We talked about every possible aspect of this that there could be.
01:29And then we're like, we don't want to miss.
01:33You know, if this is a real thing and we miss.
01:37How devastating would that be?
01:44Yeah, I remember he sat me down on the tailgate of the truck.
01:46He's like, I'm not messing around now.
01:48He's like, if I'm spending time with you, we're spending time together.
01:51I said, I said, I'm not looking for a girlfriend.
01:55No.
02:00You got this.
02:02I said, I'm looking for a wife.
02:04Once together, the pair were inseparable.
02:06But problems arose when Felicia revealed her new love to her parents.
02:11My parents do not like Adam.
02:13He looked like Axl Rose and I loved his bandana.
02:16I was into the long hair and bandanas and leather jackets and still am.
02:21And I had just bought a motorcycle.
02:23So he was exactly the guy my parents didn't want me to bring home.
02:27When her parents said that they didn't want to be a part of it anymore,
02:30we decided that we were going to just get married.
02:34We initially chose to have a small celebration.
02:36It was a lovely, lovely ceremony.
02:38We wrote our own vows, which we have in a jar over there on the dresser.
02:41And then I was wearing a blanket because it was freezing.
02:45All I knew in my mind at that moment was I wanted to be this man's wife.
02:50I just cut and dry. I'm like, this is what I know I want.
02:53And if there are people around us that want to be there for it, great.
02:57But all I knew at the end of the day is I wanted to be Mrs. Fredrickson.
03:00But Felicia's parents chose not to attend.
03:03It did hurt that they didn't come.
03:05Now gearing up to renew their vows,
03:07the couple are hoping this time around they can convince them to come.
03:11I texted my mom because I want to include her in things I'm doing.
03:15So I didn't invite her to the first dress fitting
03:17because I assumed she didn't want to be there.
03:19The small chance that my mom would show up I feel would be groundbreaking
03:23for her forgiving.
03:26What it would mean to me would be the world, pretty much.
03:29My mom and I used to be best friends.
03:33I don't see her coming.
03:39Hi.
03:40Hi.
03:41You must be Felicia?
03:42Yes. Vicki?
03:44Yep, I have your dress right here. Jackie dropped it off.
03:46Wonderful.
03:47So let's go in and get started.
03:49I'll help you put it on.
03:55Perfect, I love it.
03:57It's gorgeous.
03:58It's perfect.
04:01It's beautiful.
04:03What would it mean to me if my parents would come and be there
04:06and mean the world so they could meet my husband more as my husband and my family.
04:11They're opposed because Adam is older than I am and he has a bit of a past
04:18and they didn't get the time to get to know him.
04:21They know they don't like who they think I am, but they don't know who I am.
04:26They don't like the rap sheet.
04:28They don't like the Adam from 2013 and before.
04:32My number one addiction was excitement.
04:35I'm the guy that you see jumping off the house into the swimming pool.
04:38If there was something at the party that I could put into my body that would accentuate that,
04:41then that's what I would do.
04:43I've never used any drugs intravenously, but I've partied and been arrested,
04:47so I was a really bad boy.
04:53If I went back and did the numbers, I've probably been sentenced to between 15 and 20 years in prison
05:00and I've actually done approximately 11 years.
05:04I've probably been arrested somewhere between 100 or 150 times.
05:08I can't even count the number of charges that I've been charged with
05:11and I have five felons on my record.
05:17I made the decision, this is it.
05:19My life has to change or I'm going to die in one of these rooms.
05:22I said, time to grow up. I can't live this way anymore.
05:25So now the volunteer work I do includes a faith-based recovery program called Celebrate Recovery.
05:31That's on Monday nights.
05:33On Wednesday nights, there's an outreach program here for guys who are on the verge of going to prison
05:38or have gotten out of prison or county jail.
05:40Thursday afternoons, I go into the Douglas County Jail and teach anger management.
05:46When I go into the jail, I'm like, man, you guys don't even know how appreciative I am
05:50to be able to come in here because I look around and I see my face.
05:54I tell my story at least twice a year. I have nothing to hide.
05:58You told me everything.
06:00But that's what builds the strong relationship is the trust and the truth and the foundation.
06:04That was important.
06:05Do you think your parents would be happy if you left them?
06:09I think my parents would be thrilled.
06:13I...
06:20That's...
06:24That's the first time I've kind of thought about it, and it hurts.
06:28It's our relationship. It's our marriage, not theirs.
06:33I can absolutely understand Felicia's parents' reservations.
06:39I completely am empathetic with her family.
06:41They have every right to be concerned if you base your judgment only on my past.
06:46What do you think would change your mind?
06:51This might change their minds.
06:53I'm hoping, yeah.
06:56I think our hopes for the future would be primarily to have Felicia's family involved with us
07:06and maybe sit on a beach somewhere in Puerto Rico.
07:13If my family does not come around, it's disappointing and it hurts.
07:20But I can't force them to do anything they don't want to.
07:23I want Felicia's parents to see that their daughter's not in harm.
07:27She's happy.
07:30We're not just going to enjoy life.
07:32I mean...
07:33We're going to live the heck out of it.
07:36I love you.
08:07She must be cheating on him.
08:09There's a lot of people that will bash us at any chance that they possibly can.
08:13It's so unbelievable that she's together with me that there's no way that she's a real woman.
08:18There's no way this could be real, so she must be in danger.
08:21You're too short and he's too big.
08:23People just don't get it.
08:24He's crazy. He lost his mind. What's wrong with him?
08:28It never deterred me one bit.
08:37Interabled relationships are beautiful.
08:41You can date somebody who's transgender and not be thought of as a weird person.
08:44I know that it looks weird from the outside, but it just makes my little puppy heart happy.
08:49Humans today, we are all judgmental.
08:52All I know is I love her and she loves me.
08:55We're just going to continue loving each other.
08:57No matter what, nothing's going to change us.
09:00The thing I love most about me is that I'm a woman.
09:04The thing I love most about Mason is how cute he is and nothing else.
09:13It doesn't matter your gender, your height, your disability.
09:17Love is love and love will conquer.
09:22F*** the haters.
09:34F*** the haters.