We’re proof that you’re never too old to fall in love at first sight: Octogenarian couple

Joe Williams and Rachel Monger are living proof that you’re never too old to fall in love at first sight.

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The couple, both in their 80s, got engaged just months after they first met.

But what’s most unusual about their love story is that they first clapped eyes on each other when they moved into a sheltered housing development in the Wirral, Merseyside, England.

Joe, 84, was so smitten with Rachel he propsed on Valentine’s Day.

The couple, who both love gardening, have seven children, 16 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren between them.

Rachel, 80, who worked as a social worker for 20 years, lost her first husband a year ago,

She said: “We fell in love straight away. It was like magic.

“I was never a believer in the whole falling in love at first sight thing, but that’s what it was like.”

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Joe, who is a retired nuclear power station foreman, plucked up the courage to ask Rachel out for a meal in November after they bonded over a Remembrance Sunday chat.

He said: “I had a few tears in my eyes thinking about my wife, who I lost last year.

“I had come back from a walk and Rachel was sat on the couch near our apartments doing a jigsaw and she called me over for a chat.

“She was very kind and talked to me. Things went from there.”

The couple have been together ever since and Joe popped the question over a meal in his flat – which was filled with candles and roses.

He said: “You’ve got to look forward.”

The loved-up pair hope their story will inspire more people to continue to find love later in life and not see a move into new accommodation as a backwards step.

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Rachel said: “Sometimes there’s a bit of stigma around people living in sheltered developments, but it’s absolute nonsense.”

“We may be a little older, but we know how to have a good time. Some of the parties we have are fantastic!

“I’m so glad I’ve met Joe. It’s been tough times for both of us, but you can’t live in the past. You’ve got to look forward.

“We’re both really positive people and we’ve got lots of good years ahead of us.”

Joe added: “We couldn’t ask for a better place to live.

“We’ve got lots of friends, we’re always out in the community and we don’t have a house to run.

“It’s one of the best decisions I’ve made. Now I’ve met Rachel, it’s even better!”

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