Lesley Maxwell is a 64-year-old grandmother from Melbourne, Australia, but she looks much younger than her age. When she divorced her ex-husband about 15 years ago, Maxwell started on a fitness journey, becoming an influencer with tens of thousands of followers on social media where she shares selfies and gym workouts. She often shares photos with her 20-year-old granddaughter Tia when the two exercise together, and people can’t believe the age gap between them.
“She looks amazing for her age”
Tia explained that her grandmother’s young appearance gives her a lot of male attention, in-person and online. “Because she looks amazing for her age, she does get a bit of attention,” she said.
Lesley added to this. “The guys are from about 18, which is really funny. Sometimes they’re really naughty – I think they call them d**k pics. I take everything as a compliment, it’s really great that they even follow me. Of course, I appreciate the male followers and men definitely add spice to life… I don’t think this changes whatever age we are.” [1]
In fact, like her ex-husband, her current boyfriend is younger than her. As she explained, “The man I’m seeing is younger than me but I never think about that. Confidence is a win for me. If a man is brave enough to walk straight up to me and stare me in the eyes and ask me out, he’s a pretty brave man. These days men are quite shy about approaching women as everything seems to be done online. Anyone can be romantic online but there’s nothing like the real thing.”
Despite the 45-year age gap, Tia said it doesn’t feel like there are so many years between them. “My grandma is so close to me, it feels like she’s my age half the time,” she said.
However, while Tia is fully supportive of her grandmother’s fitness career, her mother and Lesley’s daughter, Vanessa, is less approving of her mother’s racy social media posts. “There’s times when I’ll go on my Instagram and I’ll see what she’s posted and I’ll call and I’ll go, ‘mum, delete it. Get it off’,” 42-year-old Vanessa said. But her mom has “no problems” with being scantily clad online.
Read: Madonna poses topless and fans say she ‘doesn’t look like the same person’
“There are two ways of aging”
Additionally, when the three generations of women work out together at the gym, there’s confusion as to who is the mother and who is the daughter. “If I’m with my mum they think that we’re sisters and if I’m with Tia they think we’re sisters,” Vanessa said. “And for you two [points at Tia and Lesley] they get mother and daughter for you two.” [2]
Maxwell has turned her fitness journey into her career, selling workout programs and an “easy clean eating” guide. She hopes her presence online would inspire other older women to get healthy and feel good in their own bodies. “I definitely think women come into their own as we become older – more confident and sexy, especially if we are fit and healthy,” she said. “We can actually reverse the aging process through clean eating plus effective exercise. Build the muscle and burn the fat and having a healthy lean body is up to us. There are two ways of aging – one is chronological age which is from your birthdate until now. And the other is biological age, which is more exciting! We can create a younger body – become leaner, stronger, healthier. This makes us more confident and sexy.”
Maxwell’s Six Tips to Maintaining a Youthful Look
- Limit consumption of sugar or wheat.
- Don’t eat junk food, or limit yourself to a cheat meal once a week to help keep yourself on track.
- Eat enough protein every meal to help you stay feeling full.
- Learn three go-to weight training exercises, one to strengthen the back, one to strengthen the chest, and one to strengthen the legs. Start with lighter weights and add more exercises to your routine as you improve.
- Walk briskly outdoors; it’s a good cardio exercise to accompany your weight training.
- Be consistent in your efforts and goals. [3]
Keep Reading: ‘I’m 27 Years Old And My Daughter Is 20 – We Are Best Friends And I Wouldn’t Trade It For The World’
Sources
- “Super-fit granny, 64, who gets mistaken for her granddaughter’s SISTER shares her killer festive workout to stay trim this Christmas.” Daily Mail. Olivia Loveridge-Green. December 23, 2021
- “Melbourne grandma, 64, gets more male attention than granddaughter, 19.” News.com.au. Rebekah Scanlan. March 26, 2021
- “I’m 64 but look 20 – I’m mistaken for my own granddaughter’s sister and blokes are always throwing themselves at me.” The Sun. Becky Pemberton. February 14, 2022