An 81-year-old pensioner with a toyboy 45 years younger than her said she feels “skint and alone” as the nation goes back into lockdown and she’s left without her partner.
Iris Jones is unable to see her Egyptian partner Mohamed Ahmed Ibriham, 36, as he is having difficulty getting a spousal visa for the UK.
For now, Iris has to stay in her modest Somerset bungalow alone, reports The Mirror online.
She says the stress of the situation is giving her headaches and is finding life without her boyfriend very hard.
But she won’t be jetting off to see him in Egypt for a fourth time because of the cost and potential risks to her health.
Iris told the Metro: "When I was over there I was spending £50 a day on accommodation, and when you work out £50 a day for three months, I’ve come back skint."
She added: “I get days when I’m all right and other days when I’m just crying all the time.
“I’m separated from someone I love, it’s so hard. I haven’t got time on my side, his lawyers know that.
“I’ve had to go over there three times and come back without him.
“I can’t go back to Egypt, that country does not suit me.
“It’s too hot, it’s too dusty, I don’t like the food and the fumes from the traffic is absolutely horrendous. Half the cars on the road would be crushed if they were in Britain.”
Even though Iris is lonely without Mohamed, she said she has managed to reconnect with her family in recent months.
Her sons Stephen, 54, and Darren, 53, were concerned about the age gap of the relationship initially, but Iris recently told the Mirror that they had come round.
She said: "My boys are now accepting of the fact that this is genuine. We genuinely love one another.”
The pensioner spent Christmas with her sons but did not speak to her new love on Christmas Day “because he is a Muslim and he doesn’t celebrate it”.
The couple do make time to talk every day and are still smitten with each other.
Iris added: “I didn’t think this would happen at my age – falling so deeply in love with someone half my age – but you can’t help who you fall in love with.
"Age is of no relevance whatsoever. I go from being so happy when we’re together to the absolute depths of misery when we’re apart.”
