Sutton Coldfield couple find love at 88 in their retirement village gym

Two widowed residents in their late eighties have found love again after a chance meeting in the gym of their retirement village in Sutton Coldfield.

Barbara Thompson and Fred Jenkins, both 88, each thought romance was behind them after the deaths of their spouses. Now they train together, dance together, garden together and have just come back from their first holiday as a couple.

It started with toning exercises

Barbara first went to the village gym with a friend. "I was asked if I would go with a friend [to the gym] to do toning up exercises, which I've always liked doing," she said. "She gave up and I carried on and that's how I got to know Fred."

Fred, a former army personal trainer, began coaching her. Barbara says he was patient with her training and "eventually I got the message", while Fred says she listened to him and has done very well. Eventually, he asked her out for a meal.

"It blossomed from there," Fred said. "We found it very easy together."

"You get lonely sitting there on your own"

Both were surprised. "I thought when my wife passed, that was it. But you get lonely sitting there on your own," Fred said. "Yes we had friends but... I suppose I was a bit of a loner."

Today they train together three times a week, play dominoes, bowls and darts, dance whenever there is music on, and work side by side in the village garden.

Each says the other has changed them for the better. Barbara believes Fred has come out of himself after a lonely spell, while Fred says Barbara has helped him calm down. "I have always been very, very short tempered in my life," he admitted. "I wasn't very patient, but I find myself calmed down now."

Being looked after

Barbara spent most of her working and family life caring for others, including 15 years as a professional carer. Now the roles are reversed. "All of a sudden, now I've got Fred, it seems as though he's looking after me," she said.

The couple have decided against marriage and still have their own apartments, but they spend most of their time together, sharing meals and activities while keeping their independence.

"We're on a new adventure"

"We're on a new adventure," Barbara said. "We laugh together. I got Fred to do things that he's never done before. Took him swimming, took him to the pictures, I get him to do things that are out of his comfort zone."

"We laugh together and we enjoy each other."

Loneliness is one of the hardest parts of growing older, especially after losing a partner. Barbara and Fred's story is a reminder that a gym class, a shared meal or a game of dominoes can be the start of something new, at any age.