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A couple with a 27-year age gap are used to getting looks and stares when they go out in public – not least because she’s a model and he’s a 54-year-old who rides a mobility scooter.
Mason Reese, 54 and Sarah Russi, 26, don’t look like your average couple. An adult model and cam girl, Sarah ‘covers up’ in hot pants and crop tops; while 4 ft 10 Mason is more comfortable in jeans and a shirt.
Mason, from New York, told Barcroft TV: “Truth of the matter is I don’t see myself as being in her league, so when I look at a beautiful young 26-years-old adult model I don’t think, ‘oh she is gonna be in love with me’.
“When she first expressed interest in actually being in a relationship with me I think I was just shocked as anybody.
A lot of people have come out and been like, ‘really you are with that dude, like why? Is it for the money? Is it because he is your sugar daddy?’”
Although Sarah has previously worked as a sugar baby, she maintains that her arrangement with Mason, who is a former child actor, is strictly personal.
“The idea of being a sugar baby is it can be like fun sometimes you know like getting paid $300 for dinners but ever since I started talking to Mason I just decided that I don’t want that anymore, I just feel like, I’m happy to be in a relationship with him. I am really happy with Mason. I don’t need to be with him for his money.”
Mason added: “Sarah’s never asked me for a penny. She’s bought me beautiful gifts and spent time with me and money on me so I don’t feel that’s the basis of our relationship at all.”
This is the first age gap relationship Mason has been in, he said: “The last time I dated someone 26 is probably when I was 28, my entire life most of the women that I have had relationships with have been my age or even maybe slightly older than myself so this is a new one for me.”
By contrast Sarah admits Mason isn’t even the oldest man she has dated: “I really haven’t dated any guys my own age. I usually try to date guys that are in their late 50s, so no he is not the oldest guy that I have dated. I like older men because they are more mature, I just love the way they look – like I actually like grey hair and bald guys – I don’t know that is what I am attracted to.”
The couple, who have been dating for seven months, met at the Chiller Theatre Expo in New Jersey; although they had already been in touch with one another on Facebook.
Sarah explained: “I actually sent him a friend request because a friend of mine was talking about him and she was just mentioning that he was a former child star, and I didn’t know who he was, so I just looked him up and I really liked his videos.”
Mason accepted the friend request, spotting that they had some mutual friends. After exchanging a few messages, the pair agreed to meet up at the Horror and Cop Culture Convention.
Sarah was working, signing modelling posters and taking pictures with fans. She said: “He was actually waiting for me at my table while I was upstairs so I went down, I saw him and we gave each other a big hug and we spoke for the next three hours, we talked about everything. We talked about how he used to own restaurants and how I used to be a bartender and just random other stuff.”
Asking her to go for a drink later, the couple did more than that. Mason said: “We met at the bar and we didn’t stop kissing each other until about 3’o clock in the morning.”
She had to wait though for her and Mason’s first date. She said: “We went on a proper date a month after we met because he was in LA.”
But after that, things moved quickly. Sarah said: “I think the relationship progressed so quickly because we just hit it off right away.”
Mason added: “When you meet somebody and you end up talking for three hours effortlessly – no pauses, no breaks, no uncomfortable moments of real silence that’s kind of unusual and I think she felt that way as well.”
From there, the relationship has escalated quickly with the pair saying ‘I love you’ about a week into the relationship and Mason even spending Christmas with Sarah and her parents – just weeks after they made their relationship official.
Sarah still has her Pittsburgh apartment but spends most of her time now in NYC with Mason. Mason said: “Obviously we are lovers but at the same time we are also good friends, I think we really enjoy being around each other I think we make each other laugh a lot we do have a lot of common interest.”
“It doesn’t matter how old she is, or where is she’s from or anything else.”
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