GRIPPING the pregnancy test, Neva Nicole Weber felt faint as she stared at two thick lines.
She’d been dating 21-year-old Kevin Knight, 14 years her junior, in secret for just a few months in what was supposed to be a casual fling.
The mum-of-three, now 41, from Georgia, US, had never expected to get together with someone so young.
But after feeling lonely post-divorce Neva decided to ‘have some fun’ with a younger man, never realising how serious their relationship could get.
Despite having two sons close to his age, she started a secret relationship with Kevin who was 14 years younger than her.
It was just a few months into their relationship that she discovered she was pregnant and, worried what her family would think, she hid her pregnancy for 7 months.
Sadly, the couple faced heartbreak when, soon after, they lost their baby.
To make matters worse the couple were also subjected to horrific comments from online trolls who told Neva she deserved to be in jail for dating Kevin.
Despite the obstacles they’ve faced, Neva and Kevin claim they’re the happiest they’ve ever been and are going strong.
Neva says: “To any older women out there, just follow your heart. Don’t let any family divide you, or let any outside comments bother you.
“Kevin may be younger than me, but we’ve overcome something together that no-one else can imagine.
“I’m glad I took a chance because I found the greatest love.”
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”I had a sex battle with my man to find out who has the highest libido” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6369035910112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Neva was married for 14 years, and they shared two sons, Eddie, 14, and Billy, 17.
In March 2020, Neva was working as a swimming teacher when her younger colleague would tell her funny stories about his friend he used to go to school with, Kevin.
Neva says: “I was 37, I’d been single for a year and was feeling lonely after the divorce.
“I didn’t want anything serious as I was a busy mum to my two sons and I was juggling work too.
“My boys needed me, so a serious relationship was out of the question. I just wanted some fun.
“I’d been hearing about Kevin for so long, I felt like I knew him. I asked my colleague to meet him.
“He gave me his number. As my colleague was 23 I thought Kevin would be too.
“My ex-husband was seven years older. Although I’d never been with a younger man, I was open-minded.
“Kevin and I got texting and he told me he worked in airport security. I had no idea what he even looked like.”
Weeks later, whilst her sons were with their dad, Neva met Kevin on a blind date.
Neva says: “He had a smile that made his eyes sparkle. I immediately thought, ‘give him to me!’
“Kevin was very charming.”
During the date Neva learned that Kevin was in fact only 21.
“I was shocked,” she says.
“I was already nervous about it. He was a fresh adult, only just able to legally drink.
“Yet, he didn’t look like a baby to me. He had a nice beard and seemed mature.
“Neither of us made a deal of it. I assumed he already knew my age, and that I was a mum through my colleague.
“Kevin was incredibly smart and we spent hours discussing random topics.”
From that day on, things heated up between the pair.
They began sleeping together and as they grew closer, Neva was reluctant to tell her sons about their romance and only invited Kevin over when the boys were with their dad.
Neva says: “Kevin and I weren’t serious so I thought there was no point telling my sons about him.
“Kevin had never dated an older woman, nor wanted to. Us coming together had just happened by chance.
“I was glad we didn’t let a silly thing, like a number, get in the way.”
But months later, in December 2020, whilst Kevin was still a secret, Neva discovered she’d missed her period.
Neva says: “I’d been on the pill and always tracked it but I found out I was pregnant.
“Admittedly, I’d always wanted a third child but my ex had told me I was too old.
“I hoped one day it’d happen for me, but not then. I liked Kevin a lot but I didn’t know if we were just a fling.
“It had only been a few months. I dreaded telling him as he had his life ahead of him. I kept thinking, what kind of 21-year-old is ready to be a father?”
But when Neva came clean, Kevin’s reaction came as a total surprise.
“I was certain Kevin would break things off,” she recalls.
[quote credit=”Neva Nicole Weber”]I couldn’t bear the thought of any negativity or judgement[/quote]“But after I told him, Kevin was incredibly supportive and insisted on moving in straight away.
“The irony wasn’t lost on me as to how mature he was.
“Right away, I introduced him to Eddie and Billy, telling them he was my boyfriend and he was moving in. The boys really liked him.
“They were very young, so the age didn’t bother them.”
Soon Kevin settled into the family home and they fell madly in love.
After Neva’s first trimester, she told her sons she was pregnant.
Neva says: “They were excited and wanted a sister. Meanwhile, Kevin didn’t take on a stepdad role with them.
“He didn’t know how to be a parent yet, especially to children their age. Instead, he became their friend.
“Kevin told his family and his parents welcomed me in not long after.
“His dad was 15 years older and his mum and I were four years apart. I worried it’d be awkward but they were amazing.
“Yet, I still hadn’t told my parents anything. They were a three-hour car journey away. I knew I could hide it for now.
“Not only did I have to tell them I had a new man, who was 21. But also, he was living with me, and I was pregnant. There were too many bombshells.
“I couldn’t bear the thought of any negativity or judgement. I didn’t want to cause myself, or the baby, any stress.”
As Neva’s parents didn’t use TikTok, she posted her baby news there. She wore baggy clothes and carefully hid her bump whenever she saw them.
Neva says: “As my bump grew bigger, the lie got bigger too. I kept putting it off, although I knew deep down, I didn’t have much longer.
“I told them about Kevin when I was 6 months along and Dad made a funny joke about me robbing the cradle.
“But my parents reminded me my step-sister’s husband was 15 years older than her. They were both fine about it.
“The next month when I was 7 months along I finally came clean about the pregnancy. To my relief, they smiled and congratulated me.
“I was sure if the baby wasn’t there, they would’ve made some remarks. But I was very relieved.
“Having both our family’s acceptance meant the world.”
Sadly, the next month, in September 2021, Neva had a miscarriage and stillbirth. They named their baby Tyler.
The placenta had gotten infected with Covid, leaving the couple heartbroken.
Neva says: “Grieving our son brought us closer. It even brought our families together, who met at the hospital and funeral.
“Our lives went on but we were broken-hearted.”
However, it wasn’t just their heartbreak that the couple had to contend with but the cruel trolls too.
Neva says: “Then one day, on Facebook, a stranger commented beneath our photo ‘You should be in jail for this.’
“It was awful. I didn’t say anything to Kevin and all week I asked myself if I should be in jail, and if Kevin was too young.
“I knew 21 was quite close to 18. I’d always been mindful of inappropriate age gaps, like grooming situations. Yet this stranger’s comment had stung.
“After a while, I realised me and Kevin were two consenting adults. I’d never sought a younger man out.
“A stranger’s opinion didn’t matter.”
As time went on, Neva and Kevin faced more hate online. Some trolls wrote she was ‘too old’ and she ‘should date someone her own age.’
[quote credit=”Neva Nicole Weber”]What I found is beautiful and age is truly just a number. We are proof of that[/quote]But Neva stayed strong, and ignored them all.
Neva says: “These online trolls could say whatever they wanted without being held responsible.
“Kevin and I had been through too much to let any negativity get in the way.
“Now, I’m 41, and Kevin’s 26, and we’ve been going strong for four years.
“Sometimes my son will joke about Kevin being ‘Gen-Z’ and being from his generation. But I laugh it off and say ‘Yeah, so what?’”
Neva says that she and Kevin have found their own ways of coping with the loss of their son.
“In our home, we have a cabinet full of my pregnancy journal, ultrasound, and a teddy bear that weighs the same as Tyler to hold,” she says.
“We have a page online in memory to Tyler with his photos. And we get him gifts for the different ages he’d be each year.
“Whilst Kevin doesn’t know it, he’s slowly becoming more of a dad figure to my sons now.
“What I found is beautiful and age is truly just a number. We are proof of that.”
