Escape to the Chateau’s Dick Strawbridge has opened up about the challenges he and wife Angel faced due to their 20-year age difference.
The pair, who first crossed paths at a soiree back in 2010 shortly after Dick’s previous marriage had ended, hit it off immediately, reports the Express.
Despite the undeniable chemistry and the joy they shared, Dick, now 65, harboured doubts about where their relationship was headed.
Speaking on the How To Be 60 podcast, Dick, who previously lived in Cornwall and got his doctorate at the University of Plymouth, said: “The first date I ever went on was with Angela, after having been separated for six years.
“We had a lot of fun and it got to the stage really quite quickly where I said, ‘We’re going to have to stop this, this is wonderful having a lot of fun, but you need to go and find a young man and do all the things that young people do, and I’m just going to get on’.”
At the time, being in his 50s and contemplating a future with someone two decades his junior, Dick pondered the viability of their connection. “[I was] over 50, Angela was sort of 20 years younger and what do we do?” he mused.
Yet, it was Angel, the entrepreneur behind The Vintage Patisserie and now 46, who stood firm on continuing their romance, unfazed by the age gap. Dick, honoured with an MBE in 1993, now looks back at her resolve as a defining moment that shaped his life.
“It was a really interesting ‘whoa, OK,'” he recalled. “It did take me probably less than a second to go, ‘OK, what the hell, we’re going to do it,’ and that’s the reason why I’m living in a castle with two lovely young kids. It makes no sense. We fit, we work together, we’re complete opposites, it’s illogical that we’re together, but it does work.”
This decision paved the way for them to build a life together. Dick and Angel tied the knot in 2015 and now reside in the renowned French chateau where they film their hit TV series, Escape to the Chateau.
The pair have two children, Arthur, 11, and Dorothy, 10. Despite initial reservations, their relationship has proven to be a triumph. Angel remembers it as “love at first sight” when she met Dick, stating that the age difference has never been a problem for her.
She also expressed her love for her husband on Elizabeth Day’s How To Fail podcast, saying: “He’s so passionate about life, about everything.He’s a storyteller and he’s got a certain energy.
“Honestly, even now he’s got this aura about him of authority. It makes my hairs go on end, he’s a very strong, powerful man, that is very kind as well and he’ll do anything for anyone.”
Known for her wit and playful nature, Angel shared a humorous moment from their relationship when, two years in, she marked an “impregnate me” date in the calendar, as a jovial hint to Dick.