Love can blossom between two people at any age and spark the beginning of an exciting and happy new life together, reaffirming the adage, `you are never too old to find love.’ so says GemLife Bribie Island residents Alison and Peter Dryden.
Four years ago, Alison and Peter were two people living separate lives at an over-50s lifestyle resort in Melbourne, and finding romance was the furthest thing from their minds.
That is until the day of the Melbourne Cup in 2017 when a chance meeting at a special race day lunch changed their lives forever.
“That was the day I first met Peter,” said Alison who had divorced her first husband after 50 years of marriage and was living on her own.
“I was in a competition to see who could throw a coin closest to a whisky bottle. I lost the game but this stranger, who turned out to be Peter, pulled me aside and said `never mind love, better luck next time’ and that’s where it all started,” she said.
Alison admits that while she was not particularly looking for a relationship, meeting Peter was the best thing that could ever have happened.
“We went for coffee, and he turned out to be such a beautiful gentleman. He always pulled out my chair or opened the door. We got to know each other really well over the next two years,” said Alison who admits to being swept off her feet.
Then one day while the couple were sitting on the alfresco, with fairy lights all around, Peter leaned towards Alison and said: “I think we should get married, what do you think?”
Besotted by this time, Alison replied “I’d love to.”
“Everything, including the wedding, was like a fairy tale. Our 24 grandchildren (between us) formed a guard of honour, my son walked me down the aisle, and my daughter was my matron of honour. It was all so romantic,” said Alison.
The happy couple have now been married almost two years. They moved twice, and eventually followed the sun to Brisbane where they found GemLife Bribie Island and immediately fell in love with the resort.
“We knew straight away that this was going to be our forever home,” the couple said in unison.
“We love our new home and Peter has his own man-cave in the garage, a space that is big enough for both our car and his own place to relax. There are also many wonderful facilities for us to enjoy and we also love to socialise. Life truly couldn’t be more perfect for us,” said Alison.
Having found true love later in life can be a lesson to all, they said.
“Don’t give up, no matter what age. A whole new life opened up for us both, and we now approach every day with new-found love, enthusiasm, joy and excitement … and we do it together.”