‘It’s never too late’: Widowed retirees find love again in their 80s

By Ed Chatterton

A pair of retirees who both lost their partners have fallen in love again aged 88 - after meeting in the gym at their retirement village.

Widowed Barbara Thompson and Fred Jenkins said they had never expected to find love again after their long-term partners both passed away.

Retired caregiver Barbara had moved into New Oscott Retirement Village in Birmingham 10 years ago after losing her husband to cancer in 2007.

Former Army physical training instructor Fred has been a resident at the complex since it opened in 2010 and his wife died three years ago.

Fred first met Barbara in the village gym after she tagged along with a friend for a workout session.

When the friend stopped going, Barbara kept turning up - and Fred began coaching her.

Before long, the pair were inseparable and their romance blossomed as they found “companionship, laughter and a whole new adventure.”

Fred said: “When my wife passed away, I just thought that that’s the end of the world now, you marry, you’ve got a partner, if they pass, that’s it, done and dusted and you’re on your own.

“I never ever thought in my wildest dreams that I would ever have another partner and neither did Barbara.

“The gym was the first time we had interacted together.

“She started with some low weights and built up. It basically turned into our date schedule.

“We were lonely and then we found each other.

“It is an adventure. It’s a whole new ball game.”

At first, Barbara described living at the village, which is run by ExtraCare, “as though I lived in a hotel”.

Gradually she began meeting people and getting involved in the activities and events including tai chi, bowls, dominoes, gardening and darts.

She started going to the gym when a friend asked her to accompany her to a session for moral support, and Fred, a former physical training instructor with a lifelong passion for weights and exercise, coached them.

When her friend stopped attending, Barbara carried on. Fred continued coaching her every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and their relationship grew.

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Barbara, who turned 89 last week, added: “I only went for my friend not me but she packed up and I carried on.

“We liked each other’s company, we laughed a lot and we joked a lot and I started looking forward to going to the gym.”

Now the lovebirds spend almost every day side by side, hitting the gym three times a week, playing bowls, darts and dominoes, dancing whenever music comes on and even gardening together.

The pair have also enjoyed their first vacation as a couple.

After spending much of her life caring for others, Barbara says she now enjoys having someone looking after her for a change.

She said finding Fred has brought an unexpected reversal, adding: “Most of my life I have cared for other people.

“That was my job, I was a caregiver, I had a blind brother, I looked after my mum and my husband when he died with cancer.

“All of a sudden, now I’ve got Fred, it seems as though he’s looking after me.

“We had our courtship with our partners and our marriages, but this seems a totally different thing.

“We have a lot of laughs. Fred’s done a lot of different things he never did before since he’s been with me.”

Despite finding love, the pair have no plans to tie the knot and continue living in their own apartments.

Instead, they enjoy the best of both worlds - spending most of their time together while keeping their independence.

Their families have given the relationship their blessing, with Fred’s daughter telling him to enjoy life and Barbara’s daughters saying they only wanted her to be happy.

They say fellow residents often tell them how lovely it is to see them walking through the village holding hands.

Barbara added: “We are happy, we enjoy each other and we don’t want to shut it away.”

She believes their heartwarming love story proves it’s never too late for a second shot at happiness.

Barbara added: “If we hadn’t both been in a place like this, we probably would never have met, and we’d still be on our own.

“Sometimes it’s hard, people live in the past, they’ve been married, they’ve lost a partner, and you just think well that’s it.

“It’s easy to give up sometimes, isn’t it? But we’ve suddenly found a new lease of life.”