ELLIE is five years older than her stepdaughter. Ellie, 21 and her partner Mark have a 23 year age gap and have been together for two years. Mark has two children - Izabelle, 16 and Marcus, 12 and they described first meeting Ellie as ‘awkward’ but now love her as their stepmum. Izabelle said: “Ellie is younger than all my friends’ mums, if anything, she’s probably younger than their sisters.” She and her stepmum have a close relationship and she described Ellie as her ‘best friend’. Ellie said: “Being a 21-year-old stepmum to two teenagers is something I never, ever thought would happen to me. But to be honest, I feel like it's fallen into place so naturally.” Mark described feeling a bit ‘apprehensive’ when they all moved in together. He said: “Obviously it was a bit of a culture change for the kids…but we all got along really well.” Ellie said her family were ‘shocked’ when the couple first got together due to their age gap but have since seen how happy she is in this relationship. While they have support online, they also face a lot of judgement too with people accusing her of being a ‘gold digger’ and describing Mark as ‘an old man’. Ellie said: “The thing about being online I hate the most, I think is honestly just the judgement.“ But the couple address the negativity and Mark responds to a lot of the comments. They would like to grow their family in the future. Ellie said: “I definitely do want kids myself, I'm only 21, I definitely do want kids. And I think if anything, having two step children has made me want kids even more.”
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https://www.tiktok.com/@izziehillary
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NewsTranscript
00:00My partner's 21 and my daughter's 16.
00:02I'm five years older than my step-daughter.
00:04When I first met Elliot, it was a little bit awkward.
00:06Yeah, it was a bit awkward.
00:08I didn't know if it was my dad's friend or girlfriend
00:10and I wasn't really sure.
00:11The thing about being online that I hate the most,
00:13I think, is honestly just the judgement.
00:15Oh, Mark's a sugar daddy.
00:17You're literally just with Mark for the money.
00:18You're bummy, you don't work.
00:19We're both thick-skinned, aren't we?
00:21If we were, we wouldn't be.
00:22If we could be in a relationship, we would be, really.
00:23Was the age gap ever an issue?
00:27Are you happy?
00:28Yes.
00:29On the weekends, we definitely like to get out the house
00:31and go for a walk.
00:32I mean, the kids don't love it the best,
00:34but get some fresh air.
00:36My name's Ellie and I'm a 21-year-old step-mum
00:39and this is my boyfriend, Mark.
00:41So, we first met back in 2021 after a night out.
00:45Cut a long story short, a friend gave us his number
00:48to take us out for some food.
00:49I ended up ringing Mark, and I've never met him.
00:52I didn't actually know him.
00:53And he ended up picking us up
00:54and we ended up getting together in March 2022.
00:58The age gap between me and Mark is 23 years.
01:01Well done, you know I'm going to say 24.
01:03I've got two children, Marcus and Isabel.
01:05So, Isabel is 16 and Marcus is 12.
01:08So, Marcus, what is Ellie like as a step-mum?
01:11So, Ellie as a step-mum is actually quite good
01:13because since she's young and not in her 30s or 40s,
01:16she's quite energetic and can relate to me more
01:19because she's just young.
01:21She's not an old lady.
01:22Yeah, she's just more into baking and fun activities.
01:27Ellie as a step-mum, well, she's like my best friend,
01:29like with little gossips, does my makeup, does my hair.
01:32She's like a built-in best friend.
01:33Yeah, Marcus is fun.
01:34He likes to have a laugh.
01:35He's dead cheeky, and Izzy is...
01:37Izzy is a diva.
01:38She's just your typical girl, but they're great kids.
01:43Me and Mark were together for a good few months
01:45before I did meet the children.
01:46I was so nervous.
01:47It felt like meeting your partner's parents
01:49for the first time.
01:50When I first met Ellie, it was a little bit awkward
01:52because we were at the back of the car
01:53and we were on our way to Alton Towers,
01:55and it was just a little bit weird.
01:57And I kind of thought it was,
01:58I didn't know if it was my dad's friend or girlfriend,
02:01and I wasn't really sure.
02:02When I first met Ellie, I don't know,
02:04yeah, it was a bit awkward.
02:05I was a bit like, ooh, don't know, never met her before.
02:08I think we didn't speak the whole car journey.
02:10It was quite awkward.
02:11It was a very long, two and a half hours.
02:11Yeah, literally.
02:12As soon as we got there,
02:13we ended up having such a good time
02:15and it broke the ice amazingly.
02:20So me and Izzy spend a lot of time chatting,
02:23have a nice little gossip.
02:24It's great because it's like having a friend
02:26in the house all the time.
02:28How would you describe your relationship?
02:30Our relationship is, I know,
02:32Izzy's deepest, darkest secret.
02:34So if you've ever annoyed Izzy, I know.
02:36I know about it, do you know what I mean?
02:38Yep.
02:38We do, luckily, we do have a really close relationship
02:41as much as we have a friend relationship,
02:43like I am there for her.
02:44I'd describe Ellie as chaotic, very cool,
02:48got a good dress sense, stylish, pretty, icon.
02:52I didn't pay her to say that.
02:54No.
02:55Ellie's younger than all my friends' mums,
02:58if anything, she's probably younger than their sisters.
03:01But like, is that not just like cool mum vibes?
03:02That is cool mum vibes.
03:04Yeah, like, I'm known as the cool step mum round here.
03:06Yeah, you literally are, everyone loves your TikTok.
03:09I think we've not filmed a TikTok together
03:11for a while now, have we?
03:12No.
03:13But I think the classic, Get Ready With Me,
03:15is what we like to film.
03:16They always do well when we film them together.
03:19What do you enjoy about being a step mum to a teenager?
03:22It is honestly so fun.
03:24I know a lot of people like to say
03:25like I'm wasting away my young years,
03:28but I see it as, I've got my head down,
03:30I've got a great life ahead of me,
03:32and I'm having a great time.
03:34I think I did a great job.
03:35You did.
03:36Right, we love a good 0.5, right?
03:38I know.
03:41It's late.
03:42All right, you ready to make some brownies?
03:43Yeah.
03:44I need you to get me the eggs
03:45and the brownie mix out the cupboard.
03:47Since I've become a step mum,
03:48I have changed quite a bit as a person.
03:50I think I've always been mature for my age,
03:53but I think I've matured even more.
03:55Pop them in the cases.
03:57To be honest, I feel like it's fell in its place
03:59so naturally.
04:01I think we're all right.
04:02Yeah.
04:03Now that I've got stepchildren,
04:05I said to Mark, I couldn't have no stepchildren.
04:07I love a loud house.
04:09What do you think makes a good parent?
04:11What makes a good parent is just like,
04:13just looking after like your kids in general.
04:15Patience is key.
04:16There's definitely times where you're like,
04:19this is a lot, but honestly it is all worth it.
04:21I just think you've got to be there for your kids.
04:23Mmm.
04:26Uncooked.
04:26Should we put them in the oven
04:27so we can actually eat proper brownies?
04:28Yeah.
04:29So when we all moved in together,
04:30I was a bit apprehensive at first.
04:32We've lived together since about March 2022, is it now?
04:35I think.
04:36Yeah, I think.
04:37Moved yourself in?
04:38When me and Mark and the kids all first lived together,
04:41we were actually living in an apartment.
04:42So it was a...
04:44Very squash.
04:45It was very squash.
04:46The kids were sharing a bedroom.
04:47We've literally only just moved into this house now.
04:49Obviously it was a bit of a culture change for the kids
04:52and everyone living together,
04:53but yeah, we all got on really well, didn't we all?
04:55So what did your family and friends think
04:57when you told them you were moving in together?
04:59So when we moved in together,
05:01we never actually officially...
05:03There was no official date.
05:03Yeah, there was no official date.
05:04So I think our friends and family
05:06kind of just watched it happen with us.
05:08Like, I'd slowly just bring more clothes around, yeah?
05:11And then it ended up being my whole entire wardrobe
05:13and my whole entire bedroom was just in your apartment.
05:16With my family, when me and Mark first got together,
05:19at the start, I think they were quite shocked with his age.
05:21I think a lot of people looking in would be.
05:23But as soon as time passed,
05:24I think they saw that I'm happy.
05:27We're in a happy, healthy relationship
05:28and I'm living my great life.
05:30So honestly, all they care about is that.
05:32I'm from your side, Mark.
05:33So we met through friends
05:35and obviously they didn't really mind.
05:36They obviously knew Ellie beforehand
05:38and obviously the lads, you know, what they're like,
05:39they give you a bit of a tease
05:40and they're like, well, obviously she's younger and stuff,
05:42but everyone accepted it perfectly fine, you know?
05:44The age gap, I don't think it's ever really...
05:45You can't even really notice it, can you?
05:47And people always ask it all the time
05:48and I always think that if the age gap wasn't even there,
05:50we wouldn't even know that there was an age gap,
05:51would you, really?
05:52I don't think the age gap's an issue
05:53because we were friends first.
05:55So I think that I got to know Mark as a person
05:57before I ended up getting with him.
05:59So we started posting about our family online
06:01about December 2023.
06:03We have had a lot of mixed responses regarding our content.
06:06I think, especially now, it's mostly supporting.
06:10At the beginning, people were sceptical, weren't they?
06:11Obviously, they've watched our family grow
06:13and, you know, seeing our day-to-day life,
06:15people have sort of gotten more invested in it,
06:17haven't they, really?
06:18They're like, along for the journey, aren't they?
06:19We have a laugh at the comments, don't we?
06:20I don't really care.
06:21We're both thick-skinned, aren't we?
06:22If we weren't, we wouldn't be.
06:23If we could be, though, they should be, really.
06:26You done?
06:27Yeah.
06:28All right.
06:29Shall we have a look at the comments to see what's new?
06:31Yeah, go on.
06:32We do like to do this because we like to have a look
06:35and see what everyone's-
06:36End statement.
06:37No, end statement, but also to see
06:38what anyone's thinking, answering questions.
06:40We do like to be active on our social medias.
06:42Obviously, with posting online, of course you get judgment.
06:4690% of the hate is to do with our age gap.
06:49Your typical comments saying, like, old man or-
06:51Oh, Mark's a sugar daddy.
06:52You're literally just with Mark for the money.
06:54Bummy, you don't work.
06:55If you didn't pay for everything, you wouldn't be there.
06:56Yeah.
06:57I'll get a TikTok up and just sit there and go through them
06:59and I'll just go through the profiles,
07:00find someone and then go onto their profile
07:03and then see something where
07:04they're sort of contradicting themselves.
07:06The thing about being online that I hate the most,
07:08I think, is honestly just the judgment.
07:10I just think it's sad that they think it's okay to do that.
07:12Yeah.
07:13You know, just think, who would sit there
07:14and think of something nasty
07:16and then take the effort to write it and send it?
07:18Obviously there's something missing from your life, isn't there?
07:19Because I couldn't be bothered doing that, could you?
07:20At the end of the day, as long as we're happy,
07:22that's all that matters.
07:23Yeah, I know.
07:24I definitely do want kids myself.
07:26Like, I'm only 21.
07:27I definitely do want kids.
07:28And I think, if anything,
07:30having two stepchildren has made me want kids even more.
07:33What do you hope that the future holds
07:35for you both as a couple?
07:36So I think for our future...
07:39Well, I hope we stay together.
07:40Oh, I hope!
07:41I think our future, to be honest,
07:44we're very unpredictable people,
07:45but our future will definitely be together.
07:48Obviously, as long as we're all happy,
07:49the kids, I want them to grow up
07:51and have a great life.
07:52Yeah.