Man, 23, who met his wife, 76, at her son’s funeral reveals they both contracted Covid-19
Man, 23, who met his wife, 76, at her son’s funeral reveals they are both recovering from Covid-19 after experiencing ‘mild symptoms’
- Almeda, 76, and Gary Hardwick, 23, from Tennessee, have a 53-year age gap
- Took to TikTok to reveal both tested positive for COVID-19 and had to quarantine
- Gary said it was a ‘blessing’ that were only experiencing ‘mild symptoms’
A 23-year-old man and his wife, 76, who wed after meeting at her son’s funeral have revealed they are both recovering after contracting COVID-19.
Almeda and Gary Hardwick, from Tennessee, who have a 53-year age gap, took to TikTok to reveal to their fans that they had experienced ‘mild symptoms’ after testing positive for the novel coronavirus.
‘So the test came back positive,’ Gary explained in a video shared at the end of December. ‘We do have COVID-19. We’re in quarantine now for the next two weeks.
‘We are only experiencing mild symptoms which is a blessing… We both have complete loss of taste and smell, chills, body aches, fatigue and a very dry cough.’
Almeda and Gary Hardwick (pictured), from Tennessee, who are now 76 and 23 respectively, took to TikTok to reveal to their fans that they had tested positive for COVID-19
Six days after revealing they had tested positive, Gary offered fans an update and explained: ‘Almeda and I are now currently on day six of COVID-19 since we first started having our initial symptoms and thank goodness they have all been mild symptoms.
‘We’ve not had any fever, we have not had any trouble breathing. The worst for us is just loss of taste, loss of smell and loss of appetite, and the body aches, which is why I’m in the bathtub now soaking in Epsom salt because it does help some.’
As well as explaining his method for relieving body aches, Gary also shared what the couple has been doing to alleviate their other symptoms, and strengthen their immune systems to ensure that they can fight off the virus.
‘We’ve been taking Zinc and Vitamin D and making sure we stay very well hydrated and very well rested up and just relaxing – spending time together, watching Netflix and making the best of it,’ he explained.
In the days since that update video, Gary has revealed that the couple are now out of quarantine and will be sharing further content for their fans soon.
In a short clip shared to TikTok, Gary explained that the couple will be in quarantine for the next two weeks as per CDC guidelines
The 23-year-old added that it is a ‘blessing’ the pair are only experiencing ‘mild symptoms’
‘I want to give you guys a wonderful update,’ he explained. ‘It is now day ten for my lovely wife and I, and we are over our symptoms, finally. We are out of quarantine, thank goodness.
‘We had to stay in quarantine for ten days total since the symptoms began but I believe we had COVID longer than than that. I do believe we had it for like three weeks but we just started to see the symptoms.’
He went on to thank the couple’s fans for their ‘prayers and love and support’.
The couple met at Almeda’s son’s funeral, when Almeda was 71 and Gary was still 17; before Almeda even spoke to Gary properly, she said she remembered thinking he was The One.
Gary – who is younger than one of Almeda’s grandsons – previously described himself as ‘really mature for his age’, and revealed that he had just come out of an unhappy relationship with a 77-year-old woman when he met Almeda.
Gary proposed to Almeda just two weeks after they started dating, and the couple tied the knot on October 26, 2015, by which time Gary was 18.
Gary and Almeda also have an OnlyFans account, where they share videos about their relationship with their most dedicated followers
Almeda previously admitted she didn’t have a lot of physical affection in her first marriage, though it gave her four children and six grandchildren.
‘I was married for 43 years and there wasn’t a lot of kissy, huggy stuff going on… no romance,’ Almeda said in a video on her YouTube channel, referring to her past relationship. ‘[My current relationship] it’s a whirlwind.’
But that seems to be a far cry away from the physical affection she had in her relationship with Gary.
‘We are always complimenting and kissing. We’re enjoying our relationship. When you meet that perfect one, that’s when you know you don’t want to lose that feeling,’ she said.
To date, Gary has shared more than 300 TikTok videos, many of which spotlight their relationship.
In video after video, Gary lip syncs love songs to his wife, before moving in slowly to kiss her on the lips.
Gary proposed to Almeda just two weeks after they started dating, and the couple tied the knot on October 26, 2015, by which time Gary was 18
Social media: They can’t stop posting mushy, romantic videos on TikTok
In addition to his TikTok love songs, Gary also shares loved-up messages on other social media platforms like Instagram.
‘I celebrate our love and thank God for sending me my angel, my soulmate each and everyday,’ he wrote to Almeda on Valentine’s Day.
‘You are such an amazing wife in every single way. You support me in everything I do, you show me unconditional love everyday and you always make me laugh and smile no matter what. You are truly the best my love. Thank you for everything you do baby. I am forever grateful to be your husband.’
The couple previously revealed that they waited until their wedding night to have sex, and both described the other as a ‘wonderful lover.’
‘I never feel as though I’m missing out on anything by being married to Almeda,’ Gary said.
‘I’ve never been attracted to younger women. Even when I was 13 or 14, I’ve always had an attraction for older women and when I told my grandmother, who raised me, I didn’t know how she would take it. But she accepted us.’
