The pair have now been dating for 18 months and say they couldn’t be happier. Anda says, “When Shelby came home for her step-mom’s funeral -I promised I will look after her dad.
He suffered a heart attack in 2015 and needs to take medication, so I would pop in to make sure he had done so. I’d met him before, but it was only briefly and I never fancied him. But while checking in on him, I began to like his charm.”
Two months later, the couple expressed their feelings to Shelby and her other two siblings.
“We didn’t sleep together until we had got the OK from Shelby. It was important for me to get her blessing as I would hate to break up our friendship,” says Anda.
“She was weirded out and found it strange at the start. But she could see that we are both happy and understands you can’t help who you fall in love with.”
Anda and Robert. All Photos courtesy Caters News
Anda fell completely ‘head over heels’ for Robert, which prompted her to leave her husband of three years.
“I left my ex for him as he made me feel special and happy. Robert may be 30 years older, but he doesn’t show it,” Anda says. “Shelby and I are still super close, but out of respect, I don’t tell her the details about her dad and I.”
Anda slams rude strangers who assume she is a ‘gold digger’. “People sadly assume you are with an older man for money. But it couldn’t be any further from the truth – I work hard for my own money,” she says. “I don’t know why it is so hard to believe we have things in common and are in love.”