When Ellie Liptrot and her partner Mark Hillary went for their 12-week scan, they were filled with the excitement all parents-to-be have. But as they pulled up to the hospital, they did have one concern - how the nurses would regard their relationship.
Since meeting three years ago, Ellie, 21, and Mark, 44, have been faced with cynics who've presumed they can't be a genuine couple. But despite the 23 years between them, the pair couldn't be happier.
They're delighted to be expecting their first child together - to them, age really is just a number.
"We experienced a lot of trolling at first," Mark admits. "It's dying down now, but people tell us how they were sceptical to begin with and thought it was strange.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1737436879/articles/i7Jb_iypa1737456914853/4217738117.jpg]
Now they've seen us as a family they get it, though. We genuinely don't notice the age gap. People ask us about it all the time, but we don't see it. It's strange, we don't think about it at all." In December 2021, Ellie, then 18 and a dental nurse, met Mark, then 41, on a work night out. They bonded over their love of an early morning takeaway and a friendship blossomed for the pair, who now live in Cheshire. Soon, it turned into something more.
"We used to live in a small town in Wales, so all the kebab shops closed at 11pm," Ellie recalls. "I came home with my friend and we were ravenous. We raided the cupboards before she messaged this lad, who was Mark's friend, and asked him to take us to McDonald's. He gave us another number to ring and said this person would take us.
We didn't know who it was, we just rang it but they never answered. A few minutes later they called us back - it was Mark." Unable to get back to sleep after the late-night call, and after listening to Ellie and her pal spend what seemed like hours pleading for a much-needed burger and fries, Mark hopped out of bed and went to pick them up. Besides, having listened to them discuss their potential orders, a McDonald's was on his mind, too.
FRIENDSHIP FIRST
"He came at 1.30am and we didn't get back until 7.30am because we ended up picking up some more friends and driving around," Ellie says. "We then formed a friendship group and it sparked off from that.
"By March 2022, we'd go out in the car and he'd drop all my mates off and I was the last one left and we'd sit and talk for hours. My mates would be like, 'Why are you not home yet?' I'd say, 'Me and Mark were talking.' Things just naturally progressed." Three years on from that festive night out, Ellie and Mark are expecting their first child a baby boy.
Mark already has two children - Izzie, 16, and Marcus, 12 - from a previous relationship, meaning Ellie is just five years older than his daughter.
"I was so nervous the first time I met them," she tells us. "We went to Alton Towers and there were some awkward silences in the queues because Mark doesn't like heights or the big rides so it was just us three. Luckily we had a fast pass and pretty much went straight on.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1737436879/articles/i7Jb_iypa1737456914853/2384171777.jpg]
"Now, with Marcus, it's like a normal parent relationship, whereas with Izzie it's more like a friendship. She does look up to me. We're close in age so as she gets older we get more similar to each other." Although Ellie had envisioned herself having two children of her own, her pregnancy came as a surprise.
"I'm a person who goes with the flow - whatever happens, happens. Before Mark, I never thought about having kids, then when I met h...
Since meeting three years ago, Ellie, 21, and Mark, 44, have been faced with cynics who've presumed they can't be a genuine couple. But despite the 23 years between them, the pair couldn't be happier.
They're delighted to be expecting their first child together - to them, age really is just a number.
"We experienced a lot of trolling at first," Mark admits. "It's dying down now, but people tell us how they were sceptical to begin with and thought it was strange.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1737436879/articles/i7Jb_iypa1737456914853/4217738117.jpg]
Now they've seen us as a family they get it, though. We genuinely don't notice the age gap. People ask us about it all the time, but we don't see it. It's strange, we don't think about it at all." In December 2021, Ellie, then 18 and a dental nurse, met Mark, then 41, on a work night out. They bonded over their love of an early morning takeaway and a friendship blossomed for the pair, who now live in Cheshire. Soon, it turned into something more.
"We used to live in a small town in Wales, so all the kebab shops closed at 11pm," Ellie recalls. "I came home with my friend and we were ravenous. We raided the cupboards before she messaged this lad, who was Mark's friend, and asked him to take us to McDonald's. He gave us another number to ring and said this person would take us.
We didn't know who it was, we just rang it but they never answered. A few minutes later they called us back - it was Mark." Unable to get back to sleep after the late-night call, and after listening to Ellie and her pal spend what seemed like hours pleading for a much-needed burger and fries, Mark hopped out of bed and went to pick them up. Besides, having listened to them discuss their potential orders, a McDonald's was on his mind, too.
FRIENDSHIP FIRST
"He came at 1.30am and we didn't get back until 7.30am because we ended up picking up some more friends and driving around," Ellie says. "We then formed a friendship group and it sparked off from that.
"By March 2022, we'd go out in the car and he'd drop all my mates off and I was the last one left and we'd sit and talk for hours. My mates would be like, 'Why are you not home yet?' I'd say, 'Me and Mark were talking.' Things just naturally progressed." Three years on from that festive night out, Ellie and Mark are expecting their first child a baby boy.
Mark already has two children - Izzie, 16, and Marcus, 12 - from a previous relationship, meaning Ellie is just five years older than his daughter.
"I was so nervous the first time I met them," she tells us. "We went to Alton Towers and there were some awkward silences in the queues because Mark doesn't like heights or the big rides so it was just us three. Luckily we had a fast pass and pretty much went straight on.
image [https://cdn.magzter.com/1583506613/1737436879/articles/i7Jb_iypa1737456914853/2384171777.jpg]
"Now, with Marcus, it's like a normal parent relationship, whereas with Izzie it's more like a friendship. She does look up to me. We're close in age so as she gets older we get more similar to each other." Although Ellie had envisioned herself having two children of her own, her pregnancy came as a surprise.
"I'm a person who goes with the flow - whatever happens, happens. Before Mark, I never thought about having kids, then when I met h...
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New UK (Digital) - 1 Issue, January 27, 2025