Actor Patrick Stewart met the love of his life Sunny Ozell in a chance encounter, which led to a long-lasting marriage. But because of the age difference, there were a few things about marrying a much younger woman Stewart had to get used to.

Patrick Stewart is older than his own father-in-law

Age hasn’t been a factor in Stewart’s relationship with Ozell. Stewart and Ozell first locked eyes on each other in 2008. Ozell was working as a waitress at the time, and Stewart struck up a conversation with her over dinner. The two quickly bonded over their mutual interest in theater. After they set up a dinner date, they dated for a couple of years before getting married in 2013.

Stewart was also pleasantly surprised to find that Ozell was wise beyond her years.

“I’ve never met anyone like her before,” Stewart once told People. “She is so smart and so informed. And her intellectual accomplishments are extraordinary. She remembers everything.”

But according to Ozell, Stewart also displayed a young man’s energy that helped balance out the pair.

“He is so youthful and I guess I’m kind of an old worry wart so we bridge the gap. It doesn’t come up much. He’s in better shape than me, which infuriates me,” she said in a resurfaced interview with Daily Mail.

Because of their ages, meeting each other’s family members took quite an adjustment. Ozell became a step-mother to two of Stewart’s children from a previous marriage, who are both older than her. But Ozell asserted that the Stewart family was more than inviting.

“That was territory I trod on very lightly. I didn’t want to force myself on them but they were very welcoming,” she said.

Meanwhile, Stewart was still getting used to Ozell’s father calling him son, as Stewart was five years older than him.

“He rings me up and says, ‘Hey son, it’s your father here,’” Stewart said.

Nowadays, Ozell is 45-years-old. Stewart is currently 83.

Patrick Stewart remembered thinking ‘This is going to be a disaster’ during one date with Sunny Ozell

Like her husband, Ozell is also a part of the entertainment industry. She’s been a musician since her childhood years, and in her early career performed in New York’s music scene. Her musical ability was also what ended up sealing her relationship with Stewart.

According to Stewart’s interview with Standard, he and Ozell became acquainted with each other through a series of traditional dates. Eventually, Ozell would invite Stewart to watch a performance that she was doing. But things went awry quickly, and the X-Men star joked that he briefly thought about breaking up with Ozell because of it.

“She came on very late and by the time she did I was almost at the point of thinking: ‘This is going to be a disaster. I should go now and not return any calls’. But then she sang The Tennessee Waltz. It was beautiful… When you hear wonderful music, the appeal is almost irresistible,” he said.

Is Sunny Ozell Patrick Stewart’s longest marriage?

Stewart seems to have found the woman that’s truly right for him in Ozell. But before the singer, the Star Trek actor was married two previous times. His second marriage was with entrepreneur Wendy Neuss in the year 2000, which only lasted for three years.

But his first marriage lasted longer than even his current. He married actor Sheila Falconer in 1966, whom he shared his two children with. Their marriage would last all the way up until the year 1990.