Isamu Tomioka met his wife, Midori, when he was still in school. She was the mother of one of his classmates and 21 years his senior, but he didn’t let that stop him from marrying her. Isamu and Midori’s unusual love story went viral in Japan after the Shizuoka couple spoke about their relationship on a popular television show.
The 32-year-old man said that he first saw Midori at a parent-teacher at his school when he was a minor, ooh yes! She was the mother of one of his classmates, and he recalls thinking that the woman was very beautiful. Watch the video below.
When they met again, 20 years later, he was attracted by the woman’s mature and dignified look and contacted his ex-classmate in order to get close to her. Midori rejected his advances at first, thinking that the significant age difference made them incompatible, but she was eventually overwhelmed by his persistence and grew to like him too.
Speaking on the “Newlyweds Welcome!” program, Isamu said that he fell in love with his wife Midori when he met her again, 10 years after seeing her at his school.
Despite being more than two decades younger, he decided to pursue her. He contacted his ex-classmate and asked Midori to go out with him. Thinking it was just a casual meal with a younger acquaintance, the woman accepted, but she was shocked to hear his romantic confession.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”, the older woman asked Isamu when he first told her that he liked her and wanted to be with her. Her rejection didn’t dissuade Isamu from asking her on a date every day for the next 30 days after they had dinner. Midori still thought it inappropriate to date a man her daughter’s age, let alone one of her daughter’s former classmates. But she had just gone through a painful divorce, and the young man’s attention was not wasted on her.
“I have to admit that at that time, he became my spiritual support,” Midori admitted, recalling that he took her to 40 illumination spots in a month after she said she loved illuminations.
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After their 30th encounter, Isamu confessed his love once again and practically begged Middori to date him, but she rejected him again. She was worried about how her daughter and the rest of her family would think about her dating someone so young, but it was a message from her daughter that made her reconsider.
“If I’m the obstacle, don’t worry about me, just think about your own happiness, mum,” Midori’s daughter texted her one day, and it gave the woman the courage to follow her heart. The two started dating, but they still had hurdles to jump over. Although Isamu’s parent had no problem with their 31-year-old son dating a woman more than two decades his senior, the same could not be said about Midori’s parents.
“You’re a grandmother now. After a broken marriage, you should think very carefully before entering this unusual relationship,” Midori’s mother told her, adding that Isamu was better off dating someone his own age.
💐#新婚さんいらっしゃい!🕊️
📺きょう昼12時55分
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💒夫は32歳、妻は53歳
なんと同級生の母親と結婚した新婚さん😳‼️
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出会いは厳密に言うと学校の授業参観⁉️
結婚までの壁をどう乗り越えたのか👀
MC #井上咲楽 が
『結婚指輪の値段』と『夜事情』を
ズバリ質問！その仰天の回答とは🫣#藤井隆 pic.twitter.com/WaoFAMySAe
— ABCテレビ (@asahi_tv) February 16, 2025The 32-year-old man was again undeterred. He told his future in-laws that there was no such thing as normal or abnormal when it came to marriage, and showed his commitment to the 53-year-old woman by buying a 38 million yen ($255,000) house.
In July of last year, Isamu and Midori finally tied the knot with the blessings of both their families. Their unconventional love story went viral in Japan earlier this month, with many people commenting that it was clear proof that love conquers all.
