A British pensioner who has been blown away by love is planning to wed her 35-year-old Egyptian toyboy despite the age difference between them.
80-year-old Iris Jones who met Mohamed Ahmed Irbriham on Facebook fell for the jobless man the first time she saw him when she flew to Egypt last November.
After four days together, the pair even tried getting married in Cairo but they couldn’t as she didn’t have the right paperwork. Now, Iris, who has since returned back to the UK, is now saving up to travel back to Egypt to wed her toyboy despite opposition from her family.
According to her, Mohamed isn’t after her money nor is he seeking a passport to Britain.
She says: “If he’s marrying me for my fortune he’ll be sadly disappointed because I live on a pension. I don’t suffer fools gladly. I’m honest and I’m truthful and I told him straight away he couldn’t be a freeloader.
“In Egypt we were quite frivolous, going out to the best restaurants all the time and we split everything 50/50. He’s even said he’ll sign a pre-nup because it’s me he wants – not my house.
“I’ve spent years making other people happy, now I just want to marry the man I love before I die. I’ve always been a bit of a rebel and he’s just perfect for me.”
On the day they first met at the Cairo airport, Iris said: “I was shocked by how tall he is,” she says.“He’s 6ft 2in and I’m a foot smaller but he just gave me a huge hug.”
She said a few hours later they made love and that moment made her felt like a virgin again.
“It was incredible. I felt like a virgin again. It wasn’t easy but it was very loving and romantic.
“My ex-husband said I was frigid when we divorced 40 years ago but I now know I’m certainly not.”
Iris lives on £200-a-week pension and disability benefit. She also has a £220,000 bungalow.
As for Mohamed, he is currently jobless. He quit his job when his boss refused to give him time off for Iris’s visit and has insisted that he is not interested in Iris for material gain.
He says: “This is not about money. Money is not everything. It cannot buy you happiness.
“Love has no age and knows no limits. Iris and I found we understood each other well and felt the tenderness. I do not care about anyone’s opinion – only what feels good to me.
“Iris is wonderful, understanding and compassionate. We share the same views about lots of things. I’m not interested in Iris’s money.
I work as a quality inspector in the field of welding materials and travelled to many countries.
“It is not right people look at everything through materialism. If they do, they have no feelings.”
Iris defends Mohamed, saying: “We are absolutely equal in every way. He’s not using me. If anything I’m using him because my love for him is selfish – I’m not going to let him go.”
She also disclosed that her sons are not happy with her decision to marry Mohammed, but she doesn’t care.
Iris says: “Steve heard Mohamed and I on the phone.He could see how well we got on, how happy he makes me. He’s a bit wary but I’m sure, given time, he will accept Mohamed as a father.
“But Darren is worried Mohamed is just after my money and we had a big row which resulted in me asking him to leave the house. We have made up since, but I’ve asked him not to talk about it – I don’t want to argue.
“Mohamed’s never asked for money. I don’t have any. I’ve done a lot for my boys over the years and I want them to understand that it’s time for me to be selfish now and look after myself.”
The couple “met” last summer through a Facebook page. They began messaging each other and, two weeks later, Mohamed proclaimed his love and jokingly referred to her as “wife”.
Iris says: “I asked him, ‘What do you want an old biddy like me for? You’ve not met me, you’ve never touched my skin or looked into my eyes’.
“But he told me I was a wonderful charming lady who he loved to bits. Slowly, I started to feel the same and then he sent me a picture of himself and I thought, ‘Ooh, you’re gorgeous’.
“We are both Virgos. I think that’s why we get on. We are soulmates. He’s a very intelligent man and was looking for an intelligent woman. I don’t look my age and I’m fit and healthy, but it’s definitely a case of brains over beauty.”
She also expressed her joy when she met her prospective mother-in-law, saying: “She was marvellous and glad her son had found the woman he’d been looking for. She said age was just a number. We got on like a house on fire.”
Iris and Mohamed even went to the British Embassy in Cairo, where they attempted to quickly get married. But she didn’t have her divorce papers and they also needed a certificate of no impediment to show there was no barrier to getting married. “When they said we couldn’t get married I howled,” Iris says.
“We went to see a lawyer to find out what paperwork we need. The lift was broken but Mohamed is so wonderful he carried me up four flights of stairs.”
He’s amazing in every way… almost. His English isn’t amazing and he can get words mixed up, but who needs language when you are in love?”
Son Darren said: “I’d rather keep my views to myself. I just want to stay on the fence. She’s old enough to make her own mistakes.”
