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.”
Follow their story here:
https://www.tiktok.com/@itsthehillarys
https://www.tiktok.com/@_elli3liptrot_
https://www.tiktok.com/@izziehillary
https://www.instagram.com/itsthehillarys/
https://www.instagram.com/elli3liptrot/
https://www.instagram.com/izziehillary/
https://www.youtube.com/@Itsthehillarys
Follow their story here:
https://www.tiktok.com/@itsthehillarys
https://www.tiktok.com/@_elli3liptrot_
https://www.tiktok.com/@izziehillary
https://www.instagram.com/itsthehillarys/
https://www.instagram.com/elli3liptrot/
https://www.instagram.com/izziehillary/
https://www.youtube.com/@Itsthehillarys
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00My partner's 21 and my daughter's 16.
00:02I'm five years older than my stepdaughter.
00:04The age gap between me and Mark is 23 years.
00:07Well done, you normally say 24.
00:09The thing about being online that I hate the most,
00:11I think, is honestly just the judgement.
00:13Oh, Mark's your sugar daddy.
00:14You're literally just with Mark for the money.
00:16You're bummy, you don't work.
00:17I just think it's sad that they think it's okay to do that.
00:19Yeah.
00:20Who would sit there and think of something nasty,
00:23then take the effort to write it and send it?
00:25Is the age gap ever an issue?
00:28Are you happy?
00:29Yeah.
00:30On the weekends, we definitely like to get out of the house
00:32and go for a walk.
00:33I mean, the kids don't love it the best,
00:35but get some fresh air.
00:37My name's Ellie and I'm a 21-year-old step-mum
00:40and this is my boyfriend, Mark.
00:42So we first met back in 2021 after a night out.
00:46Cut a long story short, a friend gave us his number
00:48to take us out for some food.
00:50I ended up ringing Mark and I've never met him.
00:53I didn't actually know him.
00:54And he ended up picking us up
00:55and we ended up getting together in March 2022.
00:58The age gap between me and Mark is 23 years.
01:01Well done, you know when you say 24.
01:03I've got two children, Marcus and Isabel.
01:06So 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 like just more like into baking
01:25and fun activities.
01:27Ellie is a step-mum.
01:28Well, she's like my best friend, like with little gossips,
01:31does my makeup, does my hair.
01:32She's like built in best friends.
01:33Yeah, Mark's just fun.
01:34He likes to have a laugh.
01:35She's dead cheeky and Izzy is.
01:37Izzy is a diva.
01:39She is.
01:40She's just your typical girl.
01:42They're great kids.
01:43Me and Mark were together for a good few months
01:45before I did meet the children.
01:47I was so nervous.
01:48It felt like meeting your partner's parents for 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
01:54and we were on our way to Alton Towers
01:56and it was just a little bit weird.
01:57And I kind of thought it was,
01:59I 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, yeah,
02:04it was a bit awkward.
02:05I was a bit like, don't know, never met her before.
02:08I think we didn't speak for the whole car journey.
02:10It was quite awkward.
02:11A very long tune of ours.
02:12Yeah, literally.
02:13As soon as we got there,
02:14we ended up having such a good time
02:15and it broke the ice amazingly.
02:19So when we all moved in together,
02:20I was a bit apprehensive at first.
02:22We've lived together since about March 2022, is it Al?
02:25I think.
02:26Yeah, I think.
02:27Moved yourself in.
02:28When me and Mark and the kids all first lived together,
02:30we were actually living in an apartment,
02:32so it was...
02:34Not a squash.
02:35It was very squash.
02:36The kids were sharing a bedroom.
02:37We've literally only just moved into this house now.
02:39Obviously, it was a bit of a culture change for the kids
02:42and everyone living together,
02:43but yeah, we all got on really well, didn't we, Al?
02:45So what did your family and friends think
02:47when you told you were moving in together?
02:49So when we moved in together, we never actually officially...
02:52There was no official date.
02:53Yeah, there was no official date,
02:54so I think our friends and family kind of just watched it happen with us.
02:58Like, I'd slowly just bring more clothes around.
03:00More and more things turned up, yeah.
03:01And then it ended up being my whole entire wardrobe
03:03and my whole entire bedroom was just in your apartment.
03:06With my family, when me and Mark first got together,
03:09at the start, I think they were quite shocked with his age.
03:11I think a lot of people looking in would be.
03:13But as soon as time passed, I think they saw that I'm happy,
03:16we're in a happy, healthy relationship
03:18and I'm living my great life, so honestly,
03:20all they care about is that.
03:21And from your side, Mark?
03:23So we met through friends and obviously,
03:25they didn't really mind.
03:26They obviously knew Ellie beforehand
03:27and obviously the lads, you know, what they're like,
03:29they give you a bit of a teasing and obviously she's younger and stuff,
03:31but everyone accepted it perfectly fine, yeah.
03:33The age gap, I don't think, is ever really...
03:35You can't even really notice it, can you?
03:36And people always ask it all the time
03:37and I always think that if the age gap wasn't even there,
03:39we wouldn't even know that there was an age gap,
03:41would you really?
03:42I don't think the age gap's an issue
03:43because we were friends first.
03:44Yeah.
03:45So I think that I got to know Mark as a person
03:47before I ended up getting with him.
03:49So we started posting about our family online
03:51about December 2023.
03:53We have had a lot of mixed responses regarding our content.
03:56I think, especially now, it's mostly supporting.
03:59At the beginning, people were sceptical, weren't they?
04:01Obviously, they've watched our family grow
04:03and, you know, seeing our day-to-day life,
04:05people have sort of gotten more invested in it,
04:07haven't they really?
04:08Along for the journey, aren't they?
04:09I know.
04:10We have a laugh at the comments, don't we?
04:11I don't really care.
04:12We're both fixed-skinned, aren't we?
04:13Oh, yeah.
04:14If we weren't, we couldn't be in a relationship,
04:15could we, really?
04:16You done?
04:17Yeah.
04:18Right.
04:19Shall we have a look at the comments
04:20to see what's new?
04:21Yeah, go on.
04:22We do like to do this because we like to have a look
04:25and see what everyone's...
04:26End statement.
04:27No, end statement, but also to see what anyone's thinking,
04:29answering questions.
04:30We do like to be active on our social medias.
04:32Obviously, with posting online, of course you get judgment.
04:3590% of the hate is to do with our age gap.
04:38Yeah.
04:39Your typical comments saying like,
04:40old man or...
04:41Oh, Mark's a sugar daddy.
04:42You're literally just with Mark for the money.
04:43You're bummy, you don't work.
04:44If you didn't pay for everything, you wouldn't be there.
04:46Yeah.
04:47I'd get TikTok up and just sit there and go through them
04:49and I'd just go through the profiles, find someone
04:51and then go onto their profile and then see something
04:54where they're sort of contradicting themselves.
04:56The thing about being online that I hate the most, I think,
04:58is honestly just the judgment.
05:00I just think it's sad that they think it's okay to do that.
05:02Yeah.
05:03Who would sit there and think of something nasty
05:05and take the effort to write it and send it?
05:07And obviously there's something missing from your life, isn't there?
05:09Because I couldn't bother doing that, could you?
05:10At the end of the day, long as we're happy,
05:12that's all that matters.
05:13Yeah, yeah.
05:14So, me and Izzy spend a lot of time chatting,
05:17have a nice little gossip.
05:19It's great because it's like having a friend in the house all the time.
05:22How would you describe your relationship?
05:25Our relationship is, I know Izzy's deepest, darkest secret,
05:28so if you've ever annoyed Izzy, I know.
05:31I know about it, do you know what I mean?
05:32Yeah.
05:33Luckily, we do have a really close relationship.
05:35As much as we have a friend relationship,
05:37like I am there for her.
05:39I'd describe Ellie as chaotic, very cool,
05:42got a good dress scent, stylish, pretty, icon.
05:47I didn't pay her to say that.
05:49Ellie's younger than all my friends' mums.
05:52If anything, she's probably younger than their sisters.
05:55But like, is that not just like cool mum vibes?
05:57That is cool mum vibes.
05:58Yeah.
05:59I'm known as the cool step-mum round here.
06:01Yeah, you literally are.
06:02Everyone loves your TikTok.
06:03I think we've not filmed a TikTok together for a while now, have we?
06:06No.
06:07But I think the classic, get ready with me, is what we like to film.
06:11We always do well when we film them together.
06:13What do you enjoy about being a step-mom to a teenager?
06:16It is honestly so fun.
06:18I know a lot of people like to say like I'm wasting away my young years.
06:22But I see it as I've got my head down.
06:25I've got a great life ahead of me.
06:26And I'm having a great time.
06:28I think I did a great job.
06:29You did.
06:30Right.
06:31We love a good 0.5.
06:32Right.
06:33I know.
06:34I know.
06:35Sleep.
06:36Alright, you ready to make some brownies?
06:37Yeah.
06:38I need you to get me the eggs and the brownie mix out the cupboard.
06:41Since I've become a step-mom, I have changed quite a bit as a person.
06:44I think I've always been mature for my age, but I think I've matured even more.
06:49Pop them in the cases.
06:51To be honest, I feel like it's fell in its place so naturally.
06:54I think we're alright.
06:56Yeah.
06:57Now that I've got step-children, I said to Mark, I couldn't have no step-children.
07:02I love a loud house.
07:03What do you think makes a good parent?
07:05What makes a good parent is just looking after your kids in general.
07:10Patience is key.
07:11There's definitely times where you're like, this is a lot.
07:14But honestly, it is all worth it.
07:15I just think you've got to be there for your kids.
07:17Mmm.
07:20Uncooked.
07:21Should we put them in the oven so we can actually eat proper brownies?
07:23Yeah.
07:24I definitely do want kids myself.
07:26Like, I'm only 21.
07:27I definitely do want kids.
07:29And I think, if anything, having two-step-children has made me want kids even more.
07:33What do you hope that the future holds for you both as a couple?
07:37So I think for our future...
07:39Well, I hope we stay together.
07:40Oh, I hope!
07:41I think our future, to be honest, we're very unpredictable people.
07:45But our future will definitely be together.
07:48Obviously, as long as we're all happy, the kids, I want them to grow up and have a great life.
07:52Yeah.
07:53It's a great life, yeah.
07:54Yeah.
07:55Yeah.
07:56Yeah.
07:57I'll see you next time.