A teenager who married a 62-year-old grandfather is speaking out against trolls who brand her husband a 'child snatcher' on a daily basis because of their 43-year age gap.

Samantha Simpson, 19, first met her husband, JR, 62, through mutual friends when she was just 18-years-old and fell in love with him.

After her family refused to accept their age-gap relationship, Samantha moved into her own apartment in Berryville, Arkansas where retired JR joined her, and they couple quickly became engaged.

The pair sealed their relationship by getting married on January 8, 2018 after dating for one year, and the happy couple - who now live in Wichita, Kansas - are now hoping to start a family.

But despite how seriously they take their relationship, Samantha, a student, claims that they still receive daily abuse from strangers - calling her husband a 'child snatcher', 'pedophile' and mistaking him for her grandfather.

Samantha said: 'When we are out in public, we have strangers mistaking us for grandad and granddaughter all of the time and it can really upset me.

'But it's even worse when people call JR a 'child snatcher' or a 'pedophile' when they see us hold hands or kiss in public.'

She added: 'There's not a moment when we are out and about that someone doesn't make a comment about our relationship, and it's just exhausting.

'We have had enough of a hard time with family and friends not accepting our relationship. When strangers do it too, it just becomes too much.

'We just want people to realise that we are happily married and serious about our relationship - and other people shouldn't be discriminating us in such a way.'

After meeting JR, Samantha claims that she instantly fell for him due to his looks and his manner.

She said: 'When I saw JR I was automatically drawn to how well presented he was and the fact that he was such a gentleman.

'He was very well spoken whenever we met, and also when we would talk over the phone and text. He was just something I had never found in a man before.

'I have dated men who have been closer to my age before, but they've been very immature and haven't known how to treat their partner.

'Being with JR is completely different - he's so mature and treats me like a queen. There's nothing that I would change about him or our relationship.'

Despite other people's opinions on their relationship, the newlyweds are both taking their relationship very seriously and are even trying to have children.

Samantha said: 'Although JR had a child from a previous relationship, we want to have children of our own and start a family.

'We are currently trying to get pregnant as we feel the time is right - we've just got married and we have our own place, so why wouldn't we want to?

'Hopefully when we have a child the abuse will stop, as we don't want to raise a child in an environment where they have to hear nasty slurs about their father.

'We hope that by sharing the story of our relationship, people will realise that it isn't a joke and we are very serious about one another despite our age gap and appearances.'

-Daily Mail