The 67-year-old actor met his 40-year-old wife when they accidentally ran into each other. She wanted his autograph but he gave her his heart.
Love is not limited by how old you are or the age of your partner. Any two consenting adults, who love each other, should take the plunge if they believe this is it. Whatever doubts they have will prove to be only small roadblocks when the love is true. There are people with big age gaps who, when they get together, face a lot of criticism and judgment from the rest of the world. They might also end up internalizing those thoughts, which stops them from doing what their hearts want. Being able to overcome that challenge is probably one of the first things that a couple with a big age gap has to do.
Baywatch star David Hasselhoff, 67, had loved and lost twice, but he never lost his faith in love. He was previously married to Catherine Hickland between 1984 and 1989 and later to Pamela Bach from 1989 to 2006. He has two daughters, Hayley Hasselhoff and Taylor Ann Hasselhoff, with Bach. His relationship with Bach ended bitterly and he even wanted to stop paying a whopping $21,000 alimony to her as he claimed that she didn't try to support herself during that time, according to Daily Mail. It was then fixed at $10,000 a month instead.
Even with a bad end to his second marriage, he kept his heart open and in 2011, he met Hayley Roberts, who is 28 years younger than him. This age gap was a hurdle for Britain's Got Talent judge, but they eventually overcame it together.
The heartthrob from the 90s, who is also a singer, met Roberts when he was filming for Britain's Got Talent in Cardiff. They ran into each other by chance and The Hoff swept her off her feet. Roberts, a model, had been staying in the same hotel as him and had asked him for a photograph. She had no idea at the time that he had played Mitch in Baywatch. David had said that it was "nice and refreshing" and it also made him realize that he had met the right person.
Initially, when they started dating, he thought that the age gap was too big for them to stay together for life. "For the longest time I didn’t think it was right to marry Hayley as I was so much older and I didn’t want to take away the fun and the youth and the excitement of growing old together and having children," said The Hoff, according to Metro UK. "We’ve been together for about seven years and we’ve had such a great time. I’ve realized how much I love Hayley and how much we’ve become part of each other’s life," he added.
They got engaged in 2016 when he proposed to her on a romantic beach in Malibu and got married two years later in Italy. He gave her a vintage ring that had a special meaning for him.
"This ring that I’ve got is really special. It’s my mom and dad’s. I wear it for luck and I wear it for remembrance and so I thought, you know, it’s nice I don’t have to go out and get another ring," he told OK! magazine.
They married in a small ceremony attended by her family and Hasselhoff's daughters. "They know Hayley and they know she makes me happy and they know that I need her as much as she needs me—I actually need her more. All they want is for me to be happy—I’m blessed," he said, reports Metro UK. After the wedding, they spent two weeks in the Maldives. He told Hello!, "I told my girls what I was going to do and they were both really supportive. It’s tough. No one wants to see their parents split up. But they love Hayley and they’re just happy for me.”
His Welsh belle, who was also a sales assistant at Debenhams, said that the age gap didn't matter to her at all. "David acts so much younger, he doesn’t see his age. I’m probably older than my years. I don’t feel like he’s that much older than me," the 40-year-old told Metro UK.
References:
https://www.ok.co.uk/celebrity-news/david-hasselhoff-hayley-roberts-married-14357394
https://us.hellomagazine.com/brides/2016050331209/david-hasselhoff-and-hayley-roberts-engaged/