'I friend zoned my toyboy lover 16 years younger than me - now we're engaged'

A woman in her forties has revealed that putting her younger partner in the friend zone made their relationship "stronger" despite a 16-year age gap, and she's now experiencing the " best sex of her life".

Kate Mayne, 42, met her boyfriend Rory Burgess, 26, online in 2019 and they had an "instant connection". However, Kate decided they were "better as friends" as she was still recovering from the end of a 17-year relationship.

Despite this, they stayed in touch and "talked every day", reigniting their romance in March 2020 due to the "deep connection" they'd formed. Since then, the couple have been inseparable, declaring their love after just a week and moving in together six months later.

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Despite their significant age difference, they share a passion for Motown music and are both avid Crystal Palace football fans. The pair plan to marry, and Kate, who is already a mother of one, hopes to "have children one day" with Rory.

This revelation comes after TV presenter Alison Hammond, 49, who usually keeps her personal life private, introduced her new partner, David Putman, 26, who is also her junior.

Kate, who is unable to work due to fibromyalgia and lives in East Sussex, said: "I'm bubbly like Alison, so seeing her with her new partner, reminds me of me and Rory and makes me smile."

She added: "If she's found someone that makes her as happy as Rory makes me, then she's got a keeper."

She praised Alison for making age-gap relationships less taboo, saying: "I've been in a couple of age-gap relationships because you can't help who you fall in love with.

"Rory and I haven't really received any negative experiences with people staring or saying something unkind, but