A man who fell in love with a woman sixty years older than himself has
told of his special relationship with her that transcended age.It all began in 2007 when Gregor Collins was 32, and a friend convinced him to interview for a job as a caregiver to 92-year-old Maria Altmann.(above)
Reluctantly, he attended the interview in Los Angles – but what he did
not know was that his life would be transformed forever after meeting
the Austrian woman who had survived the holocaust.
“I’d never seen someone so elegant, yet there was something childlike about her too.
“She had an insatiable curiosity about everything. We sat down together as if we were the only two people in the room.
“And she listened
to me not with her ears but with her heart. On that morning my life
changed, and believe me, I don’t just let any girl sweep me off my
feet.I set everything aside for the next three years until her death,
the first of someone I truly loved in my entire life. Our connection was immediate. It was like we had met in another life.”
Collins, an actor and writer, feels that his relationship with Maria was the most significant of his life.
He said:
“Despite the age difference between us, I would daily forget she was
what others may consider old. We both felt like we were in our 20s, and
we would admit that to each other regularly, without it ever getting
uncomfortable. It was just perfectly magical.My friends were really
supportive and were all eager to meet her. I was very selective about
who I introduced her to, though.It was like I was taking them to meet my
new girlfriend, and all the butterflies that come with that. The last
thing I wanted was for a woman with such gentility, who in many ways saw
me as perfect, to see me with a bunch of goons.”
Four years later – after the couple shared a relationship over 37 months – Maria died on February 7, 2011.
“I stood there and watched her take her last breaths,””I didn’t want
Maria before I met her, but I needed her once I did. We were exactly
what we both needed. At the funeral her daughter Margie came up to me
and said: “You were the last great love of my mother’s life.” To hear it
said aloud from a family member brought tears of gratitude, and
humility – that I had the chance to make someone’s last three years on
earth a pleasure.Since I met Maria I’ve done some of the best creative
work of my life.She guides me in everything I do. True love never ends.”
Collins wrote of his experiences in The Accidental Caregiver: How I Met, Loved, and Lost Legendary Holocaust Refugee Maria Altmann.
Culled from UK Mirror
A man who fell in love with a woman sixty years older than himself has
told of his special relationship with her that transcended age.
It all began in 2007 when Gregor Collins was 32, and a friend convinced him to interview for a job as a caregiver to 92-year-old Maria Altmann.(above)
Reluctantly, he attended the interview in Los Angles – but what he did
not know was that his life would be transformed forever after meeting
the Austrian woman who had survived the holocaust.
“I’d never seen someone so elegant, yet there was something childlike about her too.
“She had an insatiable curiosity about everything. We sat down together as if we were the only two people in the room.
“And she listened
to me not with her ears but with her heart. On that morning my life
changed, and believe me, I don’t just let any girl sweep me off my
feet.I set everything aside for the next three years until her death,
the first of someone I truly loved in my entire life. Our connection was immediate. It was like we had met in another life.”
Collins, an actor and writer, feels that his relationship with Maria was the most significant of his life.
He said:
“Despite the age difference between us, I would daily forget she was
what others may consider old. We both felt like we were in our 20s, and
we would admit that to each other regularly, without it ever getting
uncomfortable. It was just perfectly magical.My friends were really
supportive and were all eager to meet her. I was very selective about
who I introduced her to, though.It was like I was taking them to meet my
new girlfriend, and all the butterflies that come with that. The last
thing I wanted was for a woman with such gentility, who in many ways saw
me as perfect, to see me with a bunch of goons.”
Four years later – after the couple shared a relationship over 37 months – Maria died on February 7, 2011.
“I stood there and watched her take her last breaths,””I didn’t want
Maria before I met her, but I needed her once I did. We were exactly
what we both needed. At the funeral her daughter Margie came up to me
and said: “You were the last great love of my mother’s life.” To hear it
said aloud from a family member brought tears of gratitude, and
humility – that I had the chance to make someone’s last three years on
earth a pleasure.Since I met Maria I’ve done some of the best creative
work of my life.She guides me in everything I do. True love never ends.”
Collins wrote of his experiences in The Accidental Caregiver: How I Met, Loved, and Lost Legendary Holocaust Refugee Maria Altmann.
Culled from UK Mirror