It was love at first sight for Dick Strawbridge and Angel Adoree when they first met by chance in 2010.
The Escape to the Chateau stars were introduced by their mutual agent at a 40th birthday party Angel, 44, was hosting, and the connection was instant.
Angel - real name Angela Newman - admitted 'blushing' through her brief chat with the former British Army lieutenant-colonel, while Dick, 63, who has also appeared in Coast and Scrapheap Challenge, couldn't take his eyes off the red-headed interior designer.
"The first thing I saw when I met Angel - I call her Angela - was her smile. It's phenomenal," he previously told The Times.
"We barely spoke that night, but we knew that there was something at first sight. And we fell in love very quickly."
At the time, Dick had been single for six years having separated from his first wife Brigit, who he has adult children James, 38, and Charlotte, 36, with.
In the early days of their courtship, Dick showered Angel with presents, sourcing vintage finds like feather fascinators and pegs to hang up stockings.
They dated long distance, with Dick based in Cornwall while Angel was in London.
But there was one question Dick, then 51, didn't dare ask his new love because he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.
"I was over 50 when I met Angel, and I didn't ask her age because that was a scary thing to do," he told the Daily Mail.
Despite their powerful connection, with an age gap of 20 years he feared there could be no long-term future, and at one point, he attempted to end the relationship so that Angel could find a younger man to start a family with.
He told the Times: "After spending Christmas together we knew we had to have the conversation. I said: 'Damn, girl, this is wonderful, but we really have to think about ending this.'"
And in a separate interview, he explained how he thought it would be the best decision for Angel.
"Angel and I had our fun, then I told her it was time for her find a young man, have children, because I felt I shouldn't keep her from that," he said.
However, Angel had other ideas.
"What she said, bloody woman, was that she actually wanted me," Dick continued, admitting it made him realise, "you're a long time dead. Why wouldn't you just jump in and live life?"
Serious about starting a family, 16 months into their relationship Angel gave Dick an ultimatum, handing him a calendar with the words 'impregnate me by this date' written on.
He beat the target by seven months and the delighted couple welcomed son Arthur, nine, followed by Dorothy, eight.
In a move that would change their lives forever, a year later the couple swapped their two-bed home in east London for a dilapidated 45-room chateau in France's Pays de la Loire region.
The moated property cost just £280,000 and has since been transformed into a dreamy wedding venue, commanding fees of up to £38,000 a time.
Dick and Angel tied the knot at the imposing pad that same year, sharing their special day on their Channel 4 show, Escape to the Chateau, which recently wrapped.
The programme followed their energetic quest to renovate the property, and while Dick might be two decades older, Angel has always remained in awe of his can-do attitude.
"It [the age gap] just didn't matter. I didn't think about it really," she previously told The Sun.
"Age is but a number, and Dick's always had a really wonderful energy and he's a doer.
"He is just so passionate about life. Everything Dick has done in his life, he's got the most out of it. I just love that about him."
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