Former English Sevens star Sam Stanley has a big announcement to make.
The 25-year-okd former English Sevens star, became the first British pro rugby player to come out as gay in August 2015. Last weekend, he made another big reveal. He’s been in a relationship with a man for the past seven years. Not just that, but they’re engaged! Oh, and the guy is a few years, er, decades older than him.
In an Instagram post, Stanley wrote:
After being a part of each others lives for almost 7 years, @lorenzo_uk has been my pretend godfather, uncle, cousin and many others in order to make sure no one found out about us and that we were a couple ? funny looking back after having come so far together. The most loving man I know and I’m incredibly happy to say we’re now engaged ?
According to his Facebook profile, Laurence Hicks is the managing director of a travel company.
In a followup interview with Attitude, Stanley explains he met Hicks on the site silverdaddies.com and that they fell in love “very quickly.”
“I’d never had the feelings I felt for him before. It was pretty amazing and I’m incredibly lucky to have met him and call him my finacè,” he says.
Related: PHOTOS: Rugby Star Sam Stanley Looks Great Playing The Guitar Naked
Stanley says most people have been supportive of the May/December relationship, but there have been a few naysayers who have made snarky remarks over their age difference. He doesn’t let that bother him though.
“I’m sure as everyone knows, you’re not doing anything right if you’re not getting criticized in this world,” he says. “Laurence and I love each other and to us that’s all that matters. We’re proud to represent the many relationships like ours.”
Scroll down for more photos of the lovebirds. Congrats to the happy couple!
pjcomeau
Love is love.
Mo Bro
God bless him, the man is obviously happy.
ChrisK
“After being a part of each others lives for almost 7 years, @lorenzo_uk has been my pretend godfather, uncle, cousin and many others in order to make sure no one found out about us and that we were a couple ? funny looking”
Does seem kind of weird though. He met him when he was just 18. No wonder they had to make up stories about the nature of your relationship.
ChrisK
their
Captain Obvious
He appears happy so I’m trying hard to ignore it but the whole thing reeks of grooming and people are too caught up on how fat and old the other guy is to even notice.
john.k
Captain Obvious – how does it reek of grooming? I met my boyfriend when I was 57 and he was 19. He just likes older, grey-haired guys, simple as that. I thought his outlook might change but he’s 30 now and it hasn’t. If we were to break up he’d be looking for another guy over 50 and with grey hair. Btw we never hid our relationship but then he was not a professional sportsman.
Danny595
johnk – I have no problem with age gaps and I think it’s great that you are making it work. May I ask how you dealt with the disparity in money? A 57 yo is gonna have a lot more than a 19 yo, who is probably going to have close to none. It would make sense for you to give him money, but if you did that, others would say that this is the basis of the relationship. How did you handle it?
CaliKyle
John.k – 57 and 19? Thats a relationship built in part on fetish and/or dysfunction. You can deny it all you’d like but no well adjusted, non fetishist sexually functional 19 year old is seriously into a geezer old enough to be his grandpappy.
Griff_Greymuzzle
Hey Calikyle, Why don’t you worry about your own and stop throwing armchair psych terms around like confetti? I’m 50 in a poly relationship with a 28 yr old. It’s NOT based on fetish or dysfunction, it’s based on trust, communication and.. this may come as a shock to you, LOVE. We see each other as people, not as a number. Sorry you can’t accept it, but it’s not for you to judge. Try living your own life and let others do the same. We get enough shit from the world, do we really need to be giving it to each other??
ChrisK
@CaliKyle
You need to stop being so judgmental. big deal. John likes em really young and his lover likes em really old. I do agree that it;s more fetish then anything but so what. At least they have common interests.
Captain Obvious
I guess some people don’t actually know what grooming is or got defensive because they actually groom teen boys… Sound like those guys who manage boy bands or a Michael Jackson sleepover. Totally innocent.
o.codone
Your original text: “Dose seem kind of weerd though. He meeted him when he was just 18. No wander they’re had to make up storees about the nature of your’re are relationship”. Thank god for autocorrect, right ChrisK? If not for autocorrect your post might have appeared illiterate. Hahahha. Not that you would have known the difference. Village idiot. Now, go ahead and tell me how stupid I am for voting for Trump. Are you sure you can spell all those big words?
john.k
Danny595 – even as a student he worked part time so always had his own money. Yes I did subsidise him when we went on holidays and the like but he always contributed. When the economic crash came in 2008 my income dropped by nearly half but he stayed with me. Now he is earning nearly as much as me and in a year or two will be earning more.
batesmotel
I didn’t bat an eye at their ages, I was more about how interesting it was that one was enormously fit and the other one wasn’t. Whenever I’ve seen gay couples together they always seemed to look like clones of each other. Fit with fit. Not judging this couple. Just admitting what I first noticed and it wasn’t their age. I don’t care about their ages. In the end as long as they’re happy is all that matters. They don’t need strangers approval.
Francis_NG
Finally. The whole ripped dudes in love narrative was getting boring. Love is Love
RIGay
YEAH!!!! Finally, a positive posting about a body type that I can relate to!
Aromaeus
I’m starting to think the old joke about your soul-mate not being born yet holds some truth to it. Maybe there is hope for me yet /s
badtungsten
What, no fat shaming comments yet? I’m pleasantly surprised.
animatedgifman
Good for them! Having been in a similar ‘May/September’ romance (I had just turned 19 and he about to turn 35 in 1979), we listened to all the ‘snarky’ comments about: “It will never last …”, ‘One is robbing the cradle …’, ‘he (me) can do better …’, etc. I have seen ALL such commenters including all my siblings and parents go through multiple marriages and divorces and here we are ~38 years later … still happily together at 57 and 71 years old. Love is Love is Love.
Greg C
Awesome. You’re both lucky guys!! 🙂
Danny595
Nice!
salumbre
Congratulations on your 38 years of love!
silveroracle
That is beautiful.
Congratulations guys.
Stenar
35 isn’t quite old enough to be a 19 year-old’s father, whereas this guy is old enough to be Sam’s grandfather. That’s a huge difference.
vonric
congrats! true love winds out
myloginname
Well that is a nice comment to read. Congratulations guys and to many more happy healthy years together for you both.
o.codone
True love “winds” out. Must be ChrisK’s other screen name. Hahaahaa.
fingertrouble
Same here – there is 27 years difference between me and my partner, and those who ‘warned’ me about being with an older man (I met him when I was 23) and that I’d be taken advantage of, that I’d grow out of it – or even better should seek someone my own age or that I had some sick fetish – well those people are on their second, third, fourth relationship, or have none at all.
Whereas we are still together 20 years later, so who is the ‘sick’ or ‘wrong’ one? I think people should pay attention to their own relationships rather than criticise others, then they might actually have the ‘one’ they want…best revenge is living well and thumbing your noses at those who go ‘ewww!’ and they do.
Also I’ve been polyamorous and open, which has made us stronger… another thing where people feel the need to ‘comment’ and judge, but again – no relationship is perfect, don’t compare others, and the only person whose opinion is important is the other person(s) you are in love with. Anyone else can go fly.
pharaon.em.joe
Who is the top and who is the bottom? ?
walterhpdx
How is that ANY of our business? It’s like a straight person coming up to your and yours and asking, “So which one is the girl?”
paul dorian lord fredine
who cares? ever hear of ‘switching off’? if you relegate yourself to role stereotypes you must be fairly boring.
kittyconrad
Do you ever wonder who washes the dishes?
ingyaom
Shouldn’t it be: “Out former rugby star”, not “Former out rugby star”? I thought this article was going to be about a “conversion therapy” victim.
michael_aaron
Exactly.
startenout
Okay, I’m glad that it wasn’t just me! Haha
silveroracle
Yes. That just didn’t ring right.
jayfranko
That’s awesome! Happy for them since everyone is not able to publicly show who they are in love with.
fur_hunter
I did not come out until I was 28. Not to others, but to myself. Yeah. Of course, that was 1973 and a totally different time for gays. I had NO idea what I was looking for in a partner. I was 32 when I met Phillip….a handsome fireman. He was 30. I knew real love with him. He caught a cold and a week later, died of Rampant Pneumonia on May 10, 1996. That was almost 21 years ago and I still love him.
Personally, I would be searching for a partner around my own age with common histories and time experiences. But for others, if two people honestly and truly love one another, age should not be in the way. Regardless of what others may say, who cares! Love is love and they are lucky to have it.
salumbre
Thanks for sharing your beautiful story.
silveroracle
Yes, thanks for sharing your beautiful story.
I hope you find a beautiful man to share your life with.
Good luck. X
edfu
De gustibus non disputandum est.
djbear
Last year I was exactly twice the age of my partner and we have been together 13 years as of April 2. Yes, we prefer to go places where comments are less likely BUT May December works (and no it is not sugar daddy speaking).
Sotzume
I find this a wonderful story…and I happy to see a lot of support for these two men who obviously are in love. I met my husband when I was 17 and he was 30. We celebrate our 47th year together next January 4. I wasn’t groomed, I just fell in love. I will turn 65 in June and he will turn 78 next Nov. He walks with a cane now but I still love him as dearly as I did when I was a teenager. I pray we will be able to celebrate our 50th in 2020. I wish these two men a happy happy life together. And yes, its nice to see older men with real bodies in love and with someone. The majority of gay men don’t have six packs…they are just regular guys.
Danny595
I’m 22 and I love to hear about long-term committed relationships like yours. We get bombarded with stories about Grindr and hooking up but we really need to hear more from people like you.
silveroracle
Totally agree with Danny595.
Lovely to hear these stories of lasting relationships.
Stenar
A 13 year age difference is much different than a 30-40 year age difference.
winemaker
All the best to you both. I’ll bet more than half of the men negatively commenting here most likely haven’t been that lucky in love, have had many short term unfulfilled ‘flings’ and are just jealous of your affection for each other and feel if I can’t have this, no one else can either.. i swear thie gay community is so petty and each of us is looking for the perfect partner, perfect body, face, personality etc, you get the general drift that they often pass by great potential relationship ’cause the guy isn’t ‘perfect’ or quite my type, sad! Newsflash! The perfect partner doesn’t exist in reality, only in your fantasy!
batesmotel
Beautiful story! And yeah the negative comments come from the loveless who know nothing about love that transcends stats.
chuck
Perhaps I’m being unkind but the first thing coming to mind was “sugar daddy”? I know it isn’t the age difference because my LTR was 19 years my senior. What people didn’t realize was my total attraction initially to a part of his appearance that wasn’t showing in public.
winemaker
All the best to you both. I’ll bet more than half of the men negatively commenting here most likely haven’t been that lucky in love, have had many short term unfulfilled ‘flings’ and are just jealous of your affection for each other and feel if I can’t have this, no one else can either.. i swear the gay community is so petty and each of us is looking for the perfect partner, perfect body, face, personality etc, you get the general drift that they often pass by great some great potential relationships ’cause the guy isn’t ‘perfect’ or quite my type, so sad! Newsflash! The perfect partner doesn’t exist in reality, only in your fantasy!
salumbre
Naysayers, I very much doubt that a rugby star player needs a sugar daddy. He’s hot, rich and famous, and he can pretty much have any guy he wants.
So, if he chose an older man who is not Mens Fitness cover material, that’s exactly who he wants. Just FYI.
Stenar
Not all rugby “stars” are rich.
silveroracle
It’s lovely to hear of a down to earth relationship about two men who are not similar ages but who love each other regardless.
Nice to hear of something good happening in the world.
Tobi
The most likely next president of France, Emmanuel Macron, fell in love with his married school teacher when he was 15, dated her at 16, married her and they’re still happy together, him now 39, her 64. It obviously works for some !!
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/emmanuel-macron-brigitte-trogneux-partner-affair-teacher-kiss-on-cheek-sixteen-school-play-a7710561.html
DDstar1me
Looks to me like Lorenzo hit the jackpot. I wish them all the best. I hope that they don’t allow outside forces to influence the relationship. Good for them both. It warms my hear to see the unconventional find love in a sea of narcissist .
drumstick
If it was a heterosexual couple, no one would think twice… It’s not a “sugar daddy” relationship because Sam Stanley has his own rugby cash. He’s just into older guys. I was even at a young age.
ddevine
Is it safe to assume this elderly gentleman is not on a fixed income?
kittyconrad
It is safer to assume it is none of your business who is or isn’t on a fixed income.
stanhope
It is also safe to assume that in addition to having no brain and no heart, you have no man…..bitter bitches are always single.
stanhope
Good for them! Best to you both!
mb555
Queerty, why are you phrasing this as if to shame them? Stop it. You do this way too often. I get that you want clicks and shares but maybe try to elevate your lens on the community. Either buy into love is love or just come out as bullies. No need to use italics or any other thinly veiled incredulity that these two have found happiness. Is your writing staff populated only by 18 year olds? Grow up.
vonric
In an era where finding any stability in any relationship is a challenge, kudos to those who do… and if one is older, very much older, who cares? A delight to read this news bit and to read about the various relationships that posters have noted…..
Ampico
I think that it is wonderful that these two men have found each other and have sustained a relationship so long. I hope that they will always feel loved and be as happy as they appear to be. Good for them!
lauraspencer
What is probably more shocking too people is not so much the age difference, but the difference in waist sizes. Andy Cohen has a bf 20 years younger as does Dustin Lance Black but because they are considered in the gay world to be “attractive” it doesn’t seem to matter.
nitejonboy
Well it gives this chubby 39 year old hope that I could find someone cute to love me too.
ChrisK
Yeah, start hitting up places like Brazil with a promises of a green card for some lucky groom.
fingertrouble
We are out there, quite a few 20-30 year old guys who LOVE bellies and older guys. I was at 23, and still am – and still like guys 50-70+, it’s not really shifted younger, even though I’m mid 40’s now
Captain Obvious
Weird how defensive some gays get about opinions around grown ass men dating teenage BOYS. Clearly a guilty conscience at work.
Tobi
Weird how uptight some people are about something as perfectly natural as sex, as though it’s dirty or shameful, or something that really shouldn’t be indulged in until your 21 as it’s bad for your health, like tobacco.
Captain Obvious
You know damned well that’s not even what I said. It’s creepy how so many of you openly admit your attraction to teen boys and how you’d act on it without a second thought. The defensiveness just highlights the fact that you know it’s wrong and no one should need to hold your hand to explain why.
Blackceo
How lovely. Wish them both the best.
jk
honestly there are aspects of this relationship that sit uneasily with me, firstly a mid 50s man has no business starting a relationship with an 18 yr old, its inappropriate IMO. secondly i feel the older man is trapping the younger guy into marriage before he is old enough to understand how it limits his future.
there are also elements of these guys showing off in photo shoots to emphasize their differences in age and weight that feels like they are inviting attention, which is fine, but then they should accept the criticism that comes with that.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
I can’t get exercised about age difference between consenting adults Personally. I’m more creeped out by the: #Belly #gaybelly #tummy. Now *that*! seems fetish-y and not the most tasteful way to showcase your relationship — unless this is all just about advertising that dating site.
fingertrouble
Only in the same sense that liking only muscles are a fetish, or liking skinny guys, or body hair. In fact most preferences could be seen as a fetish, I guess.
Why not be proud of what you look like? I doubt you are a painting yourself, we all have body issues. Liking larger guys is not wrong, neither is showing off your body. Some queens be like ‘ewww’ but they won’t get long relationships nor any action with an attitude like that, no-one likes a prissy bitter queen with body insecurities. Whereas flaunting what you’ve got and being confident is sexy, and someone out there will be wolf-whistling.
Orgoglio Masch
Hicks should thank God every day for young, fit, indiscriminate guys with daddy issues.
Dave084
Kudos to the lucky old guy. Gives me hope LOL.