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Earlier this week it was revealed that This Morning’s regular pensioner Iris Jones had split from her toyboy husband just two years after tying the knot.
Throughout the years, 83 year old Iris became a familiar face to viewers at home thanks to numerous appearances on the This Morning sofa, where she opened up about her relationship, and sex life, with Mohamed, 37.
However, after first meeting on Facebook in 2019, the pair have now called time on their relationship – and it turns out that Iris “doesn’t miss” Mohamed at all.
Speaking about the end of their romance, Iris said she “never expected to fall in love with someone 46 years younger” but that it “became hard work” prior to their split.
Now, it’s easy for us to take a bit of a tongue in cheek attitude towards this story and to roll our eyes at the predictability of their split. This is especially the case because Iris is so good humoured and because hasn’t highlighted any concerns.
But I think that Iris has been very lucky. Every year thousands of older people aren’t. Romance fraud is on the rise, reports of love-based scams rose by 30% in 2022 and over 65s are most likely to be targeted.
Many older people from the UK are specifically targeted for marriage fraud, where someone marries them purely for the purpose of gaining a visa to enter the country.
One of the biggest red flags for marriage or romance fraud is a big age gap.
Whilst it’s possible for two people with a very big age gap to fall in love, it’s also fairly sensible to assume that an age gap of 46 years has something other than love at the heart of it.
In an old interview, Iris said she had wondered what Mohamed would want with “an old biddy like me”, but he managed to convince her that his intentions were pure.
It is important to remember that even if something feels very genuine, it can still be a scam. If the people who really love you are worried about your relationship then that is likely to be a red flag. However there’s no implication that Mohamed did anything wrong.
The speed with which things progressed is also a bad sign. It is not advisable to think about marrying anyone you’ve just met. Healthy relationships just don’t progress that fast.
Someone rushing to marry you is a potential red flag. The age gap, the speed, and the concerns from loved ones are all big issues that anyone who happens to meet an enthusiastic new young lover should pay attention to.
It’s entirely possible to find love at any age, but it’s important to protect yourself and stay cynical if the person is young enough to be your grandchild.
And if someone you love finds themselves in what appears to be a romance fraud situation, then remember that they have likely been groomed and that it will be difficult to get them to see what’s really happening.
Try not to get annoyed with them, support them to see what is going on without criticising them, and consider reporting to the police if you’re worried that a crime might be committed.
