A man has described how he was attacked for holding his girlfriend's hand in the street after a stranger protested to their 29 year age gap. Michael Hoch, 49, from Duisburg, Germany , was drawn to volunteer student, Sarah Schopp, 20, from Wuppertal, Germany, after meeting her at a theatre in , when she was just 17 years old. Despite Sarah's initial reluctance to date Michael because of their age gap, he says he was able to 'convince' Sarah to give their love a chance, and the two have now been together for three years.
But their love story hasn't been without difficulties, with Michael describing how a stranger once demanded to know Sarah's age after spotting the couple holding hands in the street. Michael Hoch, 49, from Duisburg, Germany, first met his girlfriend, Sarah Schopp, 20, from Wuppertal, Germany, when she was just 17 years old. The couple first met while working at a theatre together, with Michael saying he was drawn to Sarah's 'shy personality and shy'. After initially spotting Sarah at the theatre, actor, journalist and model Michael kept bumping into her and was drawn to her shy personality and smile.
She stood at the counter and backstage and I was on stage. We didn't really pay attention at first. In the theatre we kept bumping into each other,' Michael said. Michael decided to track her down on Facebook and sent her a message but despite being attracted to him, Sarah was reluctant to date him due to their age gap and just wanted to stay friends.
Sarah was initially reluctant to date Michael due to their 30 year age gap, but he says he was able to 'convince' her. Michael explained: 'At first we didn't dare approach each other because we did not know how to deal with it.
When we approached each other on Facebook, it was Sarah who first backed down and wanted us to remain just friend. But we couldn't deny our love for each other at some point and I finally convinced her. After a month of chatting, they couldn't deny their love for each other and began dating. Michael said: 'The most difficult thing in the beginning was that Sarah looks much younger than she is and was also very reserved in the beginning.
