A man in Japan discovered there was a 25-year age gap between him and his girlfriend the night before their wedding.

Yoshitaka and Aki met at a Japanese-style bar run by Aki. At the time, they were both divorced. Yoshitaka felt attracted by Aki’s mature charm, so he decided to return a week later to speak to her.

“After talking with her, I found that we both had experienced failed marriages, were raising children alone, and we also shared many common interests,” the 40-year-old said about his 65-year-old wife.

A man in Japan realized his girlfriend was 25 years older than him the night before their wedding

Image credits: QQ.com

They quickly fell in love and became a couple. For seven years, Yoshitaka believed there was only a 15-year age gap between him and his partner, according to the South China Morning Post.

Aki’s excellent skincare routine and health conditions helped her maintain a youthful appearance, so Yoshitaka never suspected that the love of his life was hiding something from him.

This doesn’t mean that she never felt anxious about her lie. Fearing that Yoshitaka would leave her if he ever discovered the truth about her age, she kept dropping subtle hints, such as leaving her passport and insurance card on the table, hoping he would open them.

However, these indirect confessions never worked, as Yoshitaka kept reminding Aki to put her important documents away in case she lost them.

When the pair decided to take the next step in their relationship, Aki felt that she couldn’t carry on with her lie.

On the eve of saying “I do,” she revealed her true age to her boyfriend.

All her fears dissipated when Yoshitaka reassured her that he wasn’t bothered by her age. “I don’t mind your real age at all, it doesn’t matter,” he told her.

“What matters is why you didn’t tell me earlier so you wouldn’t have to worry for so long.”

After tying the knot, Aki and Yoshitaka quit their jobs to travel around Japan in a campervan.

After their wedding, the couple quit their jobs to travel around Japan in a camper van

Image credits: YouTube/@user-ji4et8hj1n

The couple, who have shared the story of their “reverse age gap” with their 18,000 YouTube subscribers, now run Airtel, an air conditioner cleaning business.

Part of the reason Aki lied is that Japanese society remains prejudiced against couples where the woman is significantly older than the man.

“Older men can proudly show off how young and beautiful their wives are, but many women who are older than their husbands often hesitate to reveal their relationships to others,” she said, as per South China Morning Post.

In Western societies, words like “cougars” and “toyboy” reflect this form of prejudice in which the older woman is seen as a predator who objectifies innocent men.

Instead of judging women for dating younger men, Aki believes we should “accept various forms of couples.”