Woman Got Engaged To Her Teacher Who's 25 Years Older, Gets Mistaken For Her Grandma

A former “teacher’s pet” who got engaged to her favorite high school teacher over a decade later says she and her fiancée are targeted by trolls who disapprove of their relationship.

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When Michelle Foster, 56 - who taught Monica science in 2004 - got a message on Facebook from her former student, she was shocked. But the pair bonded over lunch and quickly became close friends. Michelle had been in a relationship with a woman in the past, and Monica had just come out as gay too.

The forklift driver, from Michigan, US, had become estranged from her devoutly Christian family after she came out as a lesbian in August 2021.

She explained she felt comfort from spending time with her former teacher because Michelle's classroom had been her "safe place" as a child.

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Monica said: 'In the beginning, the age gap was the biggest issue for Michelle - I didn't really have concerns. I was always attracted to older people - I'm attracted to an old soul, so age has never really been a thing for me.'

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She said: 'People ask "is that your mom" or even "is that your grandma" all the time. We learned to laugh or brush it off, but if you see me kissing her, why would you ask if she's my mom?'

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I even recently designed a t-shirt saying "no, she's not my mom. I try to let it go but it does hurt - age doesn't matter to us, so why does it matter to other people?'

'Michelle and I were always close, and we found commonality, so I didn't even see an age gap. However, Monic a revealed that it 'hurts' when people ask if Michelle is her 'mom.' 

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Despite people misunderstanding their relationship, the couple put themselves out on social media. They explained they want to "be open in the community which needs a voice" - both due to being LGBT and because of their age gap.

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Michelle filed for divorce from her wife in May 2022 and dismissed her worries about their 25-year age gap to move in with her ex-student but not everyone is as used to seeing the couple - who both have children from previous marriages - in a romantic light.

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She added: 'Another question I get asked is whether I loved her when I was 13 - obviously not! At the time, we didn’t have any relationship besides her being a good teacher.' 

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"If I allow myself to sit there and think about it, I'll go insane - I try to let it go but it does hurt. Love is love and we can love whoever we want."