No-one thought their relationship would last, but US mum Karen, 31, and her Aussie teen lover James are proving them wrong as they tie the knot and await their first child together.
With a nervous grin, Perth teenager James Barry exchanged vows with the “older woman” from cyberspace who won his heart — Californian mum Karen Anderson.
Thirty-five friends cheered as James, newly 18, and Karen, heavily pregnant with his child, declared their undying devotion for each other.
Their ceremony was held aboard an historic paddle-steamer on the Swan River, overlooking the city.
“Mummy looks so pretty,” chirped Karen’s four-year-old daughter Amanda, as Karen, whose father is deceased, was led down the “aisle” by James’s best friend, Eddie Parkhouse, 18.
James was a 16-year-old schoolboy when he controversially met and moved in with Karen, who flew from the US to be at his side after months of cyber dating. Defying the critics who said it would never last, the two are now about to formally tie the knot in America. The paddle-steamer ceremony was to have been a formal wedding; but there was a last-minute hitch when Karen’s divorce papers didn’t come through from the US on time. After a few tense discussions, the couple decided to go ahead as planned, and sign the official documents later.
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