A man has revealed how she fell in love with his children's nanny despite a 20 year age gap – with Krystle regularly getting mistaken for his daughter.
Ben, 49, first met Krystle Romano when she was hired to look after his children as the family nanny in November 2014.
Then 23, Krystle quickly became a hit with the three kids - before Ben, then 43, fell for her too, with the pair getting married in November 2017.
Now she’s gone from nanny to stepmother – and she’s only seven years older than her eldest stepchild.
The couple from Long Island, New York have been trolled online after sharing their story - with Krystle accused of being a homewrecker.
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Ben – who is father to Frankie, 22, Julianna, 19, Sal, 17, from a previous relationship says: “Krystle has been mistaken for my daughter many, many times.
“When we vacation together as a family or pose for a family portrait, people mistake Krystle for being one of my three daughters. It doesn’t bother me – I’m used to it now.
“A lot of people on TikTok assume that I hired Krystle because she was pretty and I wanted to hook up with her or whatever but that’s not true at all.
“When we met, she was 23 and I was 43 and we were in totally different places. Our love wasn’t planned.
“Other people online call Krystle a gold digger and a homewrecker. But I didn’t have much money when I met her. I call Krystle my lucky charm because my business only really took off when we started dating.”
Krystle – who has a ten-year-old son Kashton from a previous relationship – says: “People on TikTok are always saying that Ben and I won’t last.
“They tell me that he’ll start a relationship with the next nanny that comes along and that ‘you can’t turn a h*e into a housewife’.
“But Ben and I have been together a long time. I guess people online are interested in us because the nanny becoming the stepmom is like a storyline out of a romantic comedy.
“I love Ben’s kids like they were my own and they can always confide in me if they need me. His daughter, Julianna and I are soulmates. There are only ten years between us so people often think we’re sisters.”
Krystle was 23 years old when she was hired by 43-year old single dad, Ben in November 2014.
Businessman Ben says that Krystle was the WORST nanny he had ever had hired but she was loved by his children – and their relationship grew from there.
Ben, who is a business owner, recalls: “We were desperate for a nanny at the time. I was working and had full custody so I needed someone to look after the kids.
“We hired Krystle and she was honestly the worst nanny we had ever had! Her cooking was terrible, her cleaning of the house was terrible and she was terrible at laundry!
“Soon after we hired her, I spoke to my daughter Francesca about how Krystle was not doing a good job and how I was paying her for nothing.
“But Francesca cried and begged me not to fire her. She said that Krystle was really nice and she was making her feel like a little girl again.
“That definitely caught my attention. Krystle wasn’t a good domestic caretaker but I loved that she was making my kids happy.
“I spoke to Krystle very little at the start. I didn’t want to have that personal relationship with her because I had hired her as the nanny and I wanted it to be professional.
“But I became attracted to Krystle when I saw her dressed up to go out one day. I was like ‘Ben don’t go there!’ But the seed was planted.
“We started speaking more and I invited her and her son for Christmas day and that’s when we really became close.”
Krystle – who works in the beauty industry- said: “We didn’t like each other when we first met – I hated Ben if I’m honest! But over time, we started talking and then he invited me and my son over at Christmas.
“I wasn’t going to show up but the kids begged me to come. When I came over on Christmas eve, I was touched by all the presents Ben had bought for my son. That was a turning point – I realised he was a nice guy.
“After Christmas, the kids went to Florida to see family and I text him late at night to see how the kids were. We ended up texting and eventually went on a date.
“We kept our relationship a secret from the kids for a long time because we wanted to figure out what we were.
“It was definitely exciting dating my boss initially. The whole time, Ben and I were like what are we doing? I had never done anything like that before!
“The kids caught on to our relationship when Ben suddenly took hold of my hand in the car and they just screamed! “
The couple says they have opposite personalities to what you people assume from their ages.
Ben says: “I like to party and stay out more than Krystle. She calls herself a grandma! So it’s the opposite to what you would expect.
“Krystle is really responsible and looks after everything in our family now.
“I definitely don’t look for a nanny or a secretary myself anymore though – Krystle hires anyone I need now!”
