He was just two years older than Anne who, at 36, was often taken for a twenty-something.
She says: ‘At first he loved it and complimented me on my appearance. He said he was proud to be with me.
‘But soon the looks from younger guys triggered arguments. But what could I do about it?’
The couple had two sons – Joshua, now 13, and seven-year-old Jacob – yet even being a busy mother-of-four took no toll on Anne’s looks.
She reveals: ‘When he was 42 I still looked 22. People didn’t believe I had four children.
‘He hated people asking if he was my dad or brother. I could see the way things were going again.
I would have changed it if I could, only there is no operation to make you look older.’
After five years together, the couple split up and Anne feared she would never find love again.
She says: ‘I was only chatted up by young guys. At first it was flattering but then it got boring.
‘They want to talk about cars and nightclubs but I needed something more. There’s no way I would date someone the same age as my son. Toyboys do not interest me at all.’
Eventually, aged 42, Anne met a 32-year-old.
He was mature enough for her yet, she hoped, young enough not to be concerned over her looks. But she soon faced exactly the same problems.
She said: ‘People would stare at us as if we shouldn’t be together. He even got called a dirty old man. Nobody would believe I was a decade older than him and men would approach me to chat me up when I was with him because they thought he couldn’t possibly be my partner.
‘It became a nightmare. I was even accused of being a gold-digger because it looked like I was with a much older man. It was driving us both mad. It led to rows. It was like history repeating itself.’
Earlier this year, after five years together, they split up. Anne revealed: ‘Once again I found myself alone. I was heartbroken that my life was being so badly affected by the way I looked.’
She has since struggled to meet any men her own age but has no shortage of offers from men 20 years younger.
She says ‘People think that must be great but I am a grown woman with four sons. I don’t want to date a kid. I want a real man, but men my age don’t want to date me because it makes them look like perverts. I feel caught in a trap and I don’t know what to do.’
It’s not just her love life that has suffered because of her youthful appearance. Anne used to enjoy shopping trips with eldest son Arthur, but he got fed up of his mum being mistaken for his girlfriend – making it impossible for him to meet anyone either.
Anne says: ‘Girls just assumed he was taken. He found it embarrassing to have to explain to them I was his mother.
‘I couldn’t believe that me looking young was stopping both me and my son from meeting anyone.’
Friendships have also been wrecked by jealousy over her looks. She says: ‘As they started to look older and I just looked younger, my friends saw me as a threat to them.
‘Their husbands would tell me how young I looked and it annoyed them so they stopped inviting me out. It wasn’t my fault but what could I do?
‘Women my own age think standing next to me makes them look old. I can see them looking me up and down – I’ve even been called a bitch.
‘So I have to hang around with much younger women. They are good fun but deep down we’re not into the same things. Some are younger than my son but what choice do I have?
‘Because of the way I look I don’t feel I fit in anywhere – with young people, or those my own age. I bring out the bitchy side in women so I’m scared to try to make new friends.’
Anne, who uses just soap and water and Palmer’s face cream, has even started examining her face in the mirror in the hope of finding a wrinkle.
She admits: ‘Most women dread them while I am desperate to find just one. But my face and body are totally smooth.
‘I’ve lost count of the times people have asked me if I could bottle my secret and sell it – I’d be a millionaire if I could.’
