Grandmother Stuns Family By Marrying Tunisian Toy-boy

Jane Makhloufi, 47, was swept off her feet by baby-faced Mohamed after meeting him online when her first marriage collapsed.

Despite warnings it was a scam, the mother-of-seven flew to Tunisia and tied the knot following a whirlwind romance.

Now, to further prove her devotion, the real-life Shirley Valentine wants to become a Muslim, like her new husband, and start wearing a hijab.

But Mohamed, 32, has so far been refused a UK Visa and relies on handouts from his wife while he searches for work.

Jane, who earns £70-a-week in incapacity benefits, has pleaded his case with the Home Office without success.

She has asked the Prime Minister David Cameron, Nick Clegg and even The Queen for their support. 

She said: "Plenty of people think it is a scam but I know it's not. He has told me many times that he doesn't want to be with any other woman. He only wants to be with me.

"People think all Tunisian men are love-rats but they need to get their facts right. There are love-rats all over the world, even in England. 

"All the men I met in Tunisia with my husband were really nice. If I thought for one minute it was a scam, I wouldn't have married him. I would have just stayed on my own.

"We've been married two years now. If it was a scam he would have left me by now.

"When he comes here I want to convert to Islam and wear a hijab. He hasn't said anything about it. It is my decision. If I want to do it I will do it."

Jane, from Leeds, met well-groomed Mohamed, a former coffee shop worker, on a social networking site soon after ending her 'unhappy' marriage of 26 years in 2011.

She said she was instantly attracted to the chisel-jawed hunk but was even more impressed by the fact he wasn't sleazy or 'only after one thing'.

After exchanging increasingly flirtatious messages, Jane took the plunge and flew to the coastal city of Sousse to meet him face-to-face. 

The keen knitter said she was nervous at first but instantly won over by not only his looks, but how polite and chivalrous he was.

She said he held doors open in front of her and took her out on his motorbike for exotic meals on the beach.

"He was so different to the men back in England," said Jane, who also got know his extended family well, including his mother and sister.

"When I met him he was a proper gentleman. He was clean and respectable. In the end we couldn't keep our hands off each other."

After 10-15 more trips to Tunisia, Jane was delighted when Mohamed finally popped the question and she didn't hesitate to accept.

But not everyone was happy with their romance, including some angry local women.

"Some of the people in Tunisia didn't like it," said Jane, who admits she had only been looking for fun to start with.

"They would say: 'Why are you with an English woman, a bigger woman?

"And he would just reply: 'Because I want to be with an English woman, not a Tunisian woman.'"

They were married on October 18, 2012, and Jane describes it as the happiest day of her life.

The ceremony was vibrant and lavish. Jane especially enjoyed wearing a traditional North African wedding dress and intricate henna tattoos on her arms while Mohamed was dressed in a dark suit.

But their joy was short lived when, instead of coming home to live in her second floor council flat, Mohamed was refused a Visa because his English was poor.

And, even when it vastly improved with Jane's help, he was again turned away because the UK Border Agency believed she could not support him if he failed to get a job. 

As an immigrant he would have to be a resident for two-and-a-half years before he could claim benefits.

Instead, Mohammed travelled to Dublin, Ireland, after getting an EU Visa in 'three weeks' and has been there the last four months looking for work.

To survive he cooks and cleans for friends in return for a bed and food.

Devoted Jane sends him money when she can and even encourages him to pass it on to his family in Tunisia, who she says were always very welcoming.

Jane, who already suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis which keeps her out of work, says the stress of the situation is starting to making her ill and she suffers from angina.

She flies to see him in Ireland as many times as she can and when they are apart the desperate couple speak every night on the phone or over a live video link.

They talk so much some of her grandchildren, who regularly visit, now jokingly refer to him as their 'second granddad.'

Not all of her family, many who are almost the same age as her husband, are happy with the union while others are content to just 'see her happy'.

Mohamed, who was previously worked as a builder in Tunisia, said he hopes to come to the UK and prove his doubters wrong. 

But most of all he wants to make up for Jane's generosity towards him.

He said: "She is a good woman with a tender, soft heart. Every time I have been in need she has always been there.

"She has treated me well, with a lot of respect and always understands me. I've found in her what I never found in others. I hope to build a real life together.

"I've really suffered being away from her. I've been so stressed day after day and I feel hopeless and lost.

"I know some people think it is fake but I'm not bothered what they say. At the end of the day all that matter is that I am with her and she is with me and the others cannot bother us."

Meanwhile, Jane says she will continue to fight for her husband's 'right' to come to the UK and live with her.

And, although she sees little hope at present, she is adamant she will not give up without a fight.

"No one should have to leave their husband behind," said Jane, who is assessing her legal options.

"All I want is for us to have a life together. All I want is for my husband to be here with me."