When popular Escape to the Chateau stars Dick Strawbridge and Angel Adoree met in 2010 it was love at first sight for the couple. The pair were first introduced by their mutual agent at a 40th birthday party Angel, 44, was hosting, where they connected very quickly.
Angel, whose real name is Angela Newman, blushed during her brief chat with the former British Army lieutenant-colonel at the party. Dick, 63, who has also appeared in Coast and Scrapheap Challenge, as reported by The Mirror said he was captivated by 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."
When the pair met Dick had been single for six years after separating from his first wife Brigit, who he had two children with - James, who is now 38-years-old, and Charlotte, 36. Dick brought Angel lots of presents in the early stages of their relationship, sourcing vintage finds like feather fascinators and pegs to hang up stockings.
Dick and Angel dated long distance for a period, with the Dick based in Cornwall and Angel in London. But despite falling in love, there was a single question Dick, then 51, would not dare ask his new love as 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.
He feared there could be no long-term future due to the couple's 20-year age gap. 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.'"
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 would not entertain this idea. "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 was relatively cheap at £280,000 and has since been transformed into a dreamlike wedding venue, which can command fees of up to £38,000 a time.
Dick and Angel married at the impressive property that same year, sharing their special day on their Channel 4 show, Escape to the Chateau, which recently finished filming. The programme followed their energetic quest to renovate the property, and while Dick might be two decades older, Angel has always been impressed by 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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