How we met: ‘I worried about the age gap

Jos, 64, and Bjørn, 47, were introduced by a mutual friend in 2011. They’ve supported each other through mental health trauma and are now happily settled near Amsterdam

When Bjørn visited a psychologist in 2011, he had no idea what to expect. “I’d been living in Amsterdam for five years and working as a graphic designer, but I was suffering burnout,” he says. “I love working with my hands, and through my psychology sessions, I discovered there were blacksmiths who make a living from it, so I decided to do a course in blacksmithing.”

To help him gain extra experience and learn outside the course, a mutual friend suggested that he email Jos, a local artist who made sculptures with metal. “As well as metalwork, I also make other things, like costumes and bodywork,” says Jos. “I was also working at a care home to support myself.” That December, Jos invited Bjørn to his workshop to watch him at work and, although he noticed that Jos was handsome, he thought he was too young to be interested. “I stayed professional and at first we just talked about work. I showed him some of the chain mail I’d been working on.”