Couplewith 32 YEAR age gap who defied their families to marry, celebrate their 18th wedding anniversary and groom says his 76-year-old wife is his 'life-longo bsession'
年龄相差32岁的夫妇庆祝第18个结婚纪念日,新郎说他76岁的妻子是他“终身的爱恋”
A couple who defied their families wishes to marry because the bride, at 59, was 32 years older than her husband-to-be, are preparing to celebrate 18 years together.
这对夫妇对抗自己家人的意愿决心要结婚,因为当时她59岁,而他32岁,如今,他们已经一起走过了18个年头。
In 1996Li Yuchen married his older love Ma Yuqin, from north east China's Liaoning Province, after falling in love when he was a child and she was a famous local actress.
1996年,李玉晨与来自辽宁的马玉琴结婚,当他还是个孩子时就已经爱上了作为当地著名演员的她。
Despite strong opposition from relatives, friends and neighbours, and Li's father renouncing him publicly, the age-gap lovers risked becoming social outcasts towed.
尽管亲戚,朋友和邻居强烈反对,李的父亲还公开宣布与他断绝关系,这对年龄悬殊的爱人依然不顾社会的反对而结婚。
Li, now 44, said: 'Nobody believed our marriage would last long but we have proved them wrong with a loving relationship that has lasted almost 18 years.'
现年44岁的李说:“没有人相信我们的婚姻会持久,但是我们证明了他们错了,我们已经在一起18年了。”
Li was born in 1969, when Ma, then 32, was a well-known performer with a family of her own.
李1969年出生,而当时32岁的马是一名著名演员,已经拥有自己的家庭。
Yet whenas an eight-year-old he first saw her act, Li fell head over heels for the older beauty.
然而,当八岁的他第一次看她表演时,李对她的美神魂颠倒。
'I was smitten, and it was a life-long obsession that I never lost, even now,'he said. 'I adore Ma and remember her as if it were yesterday when she came for a performance in my primary school.'
“我当时真是神魂颠倒了,这是一种毕生的爱恋,即使现在也是如此,”他说。“我喜欢马,当她来我们学校表演时,我有一种似曾相识的感觉。”
When Li's father told his son that he had been at school with Ma, Li ran up to the actress calling her 'auntie'.
当李的父亲告诉儿子自己刚刚在学校看过马时,他马上跑向这位女演员,并称她为“阿姨”。
Ma, now 76, said: 'He was a cheeky little chap and I really felt a warm spot for him,but never dreamed that we would end up married.
现年76岁的马说:“他当时是个厚脸皮的小家伙,我还真是蛮喜欢他的,但是从来没想过我们会结婚。”
'He was just the son of a school friend to me back then. I was stunned after years of knowing him when he proposed and told me he loved me.
“他当时仅仅是我校友的儿子,认识他几年后当他向我求婚并说爱我时,我也是不知所措。”
'It was then that I realised that I actually had grown very fond of him too.'
“也是在那时我才意识到实际上我也已经非常喜欢他了。”
Li said:'From the age of 20, my parents introduced many girls to me but I refused allof the girls with different excuses. In fact, Ma Yuqin had been my idol all the time, and no others could hold a candle to her.
李说:“从20岁开始,我父母给我介绍很多女孩子,但是我用各种借口拒绝了她们。实际上,马玉琴始终都是我的偶像,任何人都无法与她相提并论。”
'Wherever Ma went to give performance, I would go to watch. It was at these performances that we got close, we would go for dinner afterwards or chat in bars.'
“无论马去哪里表演,我都会去看。正是通过这些表演,我们的关系变得亲密,表演过后,我们会去吃饭或者去酒吧里聊天。”
When he was 27, Li joined Ma on stage and the pair began to perform together. After their first season - and undaunted by the age gap, Li proposed to the object of his affections, who was then 59.
当他27岁的时候,李在舞台上加入了马,于是一起表演。在一起表演一段时间过后,李向马求婚,当时她已经59岁了。
Li's parents were so horrified by their son's unlikely match that they told him he should be ashamed and that he must abandon his mature fiancee, who was also adivorced mother-of-two.
李的父母为此感到紧张不安,他们对他说他应该为此感到羞耻,并且一定要抛弃这个成熟的未婚妻,当时她已经离婚,并且有两个孩子。
Li's father threw him out of the house and announced publicly that he disowned his son.
李的父亲将他赶出了家门,并公开宣布断绝父子关系。
Ma's two sons also lashed out at their mother's relationship, while Li says neighbours laughed at the pair.
马的两个儿子也是猛烈的抨击母亲的这段关系,李说他们都被邻居们嘲笑。
Li's mother died in 2006, reportedly weakened by her son's bizarre love match.
李的母亲2006年去世,据说是受到了儿子婚事的刺激。
Despite this opposition, the unlikely lovers said their vows and have defied the oddsby living a happy life together.
尽管遭到反对,两人还是结婚了并愉快的生活在一起。
Ma said:'I hope it goes on for many more years.'
马说:“我希望这样的感情能继续持续下去。”