What started as a routine e-hailing trip has turned into a real-life love story, unfolding live on 5FM and capturing the attention of listeners across the country.
Tebogo, 35, an e-hailing driver, sent a voice note to the station that she was heading on a date with a passenger she had met the day before during a trip.
Intrigued by this love story, the 5 Weekend Breakfast Show team took down her details and followed up the next day to find out how it went.
By all accounts, the date appears to have been a resounding success, with Tebogo describing a deep and natural connection, even going as far as to use the word “soulmate”. However, there was one unexpected twist: she discovered that her date, George, is 27 years old and nine years younger than her.
A meet-cute
Keen to explore the love story further, 5FM invited the pair into the studio, where listeners got to meet George and hear his side of the story.
He said that he was initially surprised to be picked up by someone he found so attractive and felt an instant connection.
“I was on my way to a football training session, I didn’t think much of requesting. [I thought] I’m just going to get another ordinary ride. Then I saw Tebogo and I’m like, ‘wow, okay’,” he told show host Mike Venter before she whipped around in her front seat to look at him in disbelief in the back seat.
The spark was strong enough that he invited Tebogo to attend his soccer match the very next day – the start of what has now become a promising relationship. Despite the age difference, both Tebogo and George have said they are willing to look past it, choosing instead to focus on the genuine connection they share.
“I was a bit hesitant at first and then I was like ‘okay, let me go and see’,” the driver said, adding that her hesitation faded away as they spoke more and realised how much they have in common.
What the research says
Tebogo and George’s story touches on something researchers have actually studied. A research paper by John Gottman’s work, co-authored with Levenson and Carstensen, found in simple terms that older couples are happier and calmer.
The research studied married couples aged 40-50 versus 60-70 and found that older couples showed more positive emotions during interactions and were physically less stressed (things like slower heart rates and lower skin conductance) than their middle-aged counterparts.
Additionally, the love connection deepens over time. Rather than love fading, long-term couples who are satisfied tend to get more affectionate and emotionally close as they age.
The study also found that older couples reported less conflict and greater enjoyment across a wide range of shared activities but unhappy marriages stay unhappy.
The markers of a troubled relationship, less positivity, more negativity, more negative back-and-forth, don’t just disappear with age. As the paper puts it, these patterns appear to be “a marker of marital distress in all age groups, even in marriages that span decades”.
As it relates to Tebogo and George’s nine-year age gap, the research shows that it should not be a problem.
Instead, the quality of connection they build and the strength of their emotional foundation is actually what will determine the success of their relationship.
