An unlikely love sparked for one couple after a divorced Long Island business owner hired a "terrible nanny" to help tend to his three young children. Though she wasn't the Mary Poppins he initially hoped for, he popped the question and married her instead.

The now-49-year-old Ben Romano and 29-year-old Krystle shared their age gap love story with the Mirror.

"A lot of people on TikTok assume that I hired Krystle because she was pretty, and I wanted to hook up with her or whatever, but that's not true at all," the dad and businessman shared.

"When we met, she was 23 and I was 43, and we were in totally different places. Our love wasn't planned," Ben added.

"Other people online call Krystle a gold digger and a homewrecker. But I didn't have much money when I met her. I call Krystle my lucky charm because my business only really took off when we started dating."

Ben said that Krystle was "honestly the worst nanny" he had ever hired, but her kindness and care for his three children made it hard to fire her.

He was desperate for a nanny at the time because he "was working and had full custody."

"Her cooking was terrible, her cleaning of the house was terrible and she was terrible at laundry!" he continued.

"Soon after we hired her, I spoke to my daughter Francesca about how Krystle was not doing a good job and how I was paying her for nothing. But Francesca cried and begged me not to fire her. She said that Krystle was really nice, and she was making her feel like a little girl again," he explained.

According to Ben, "That definitely caught my attention. Krystle wasn't a good domestic caretaker, but I loved that she was making my kids happy."

"I spoke to Krystle very little at the start. I didn't want to have that personal relationship with her because I had hired her as the nanny, and I wanted it to be professional. But I became attracted to Krystle when I saw her dressed up to go out one day. I was like, 'Ben, don't go there!' But the seed was planted."

Eventually, he invited her and her young son over for a Christmas party, which is when they "really became close."

Krystle wasn't impressed by Ben initially, but after witnessing his kindness to her son, she also turned a corner.

"I wasn't going to show up, but the kids begged me to come ... When I came over on Christmas eve, I was touched by all the presents Ben had bought for my son. I realized he was a nice guy," Krystle explained.

"After Christmas, the kids went to Florida to see family, and I text[ed] him late at night to see how the kids were. We ended up texting and eventually went on a date," the now-wife continued.

The pair kept their relationship a secret from the kids for a long because they "wanted to figure out what we were."

"It was definitely exciting dating my boss initially. The whole time, Ben and I were like, 'What are we doing?' I had never done anything like that before!" Krystle added. "The kids caught on to our relationship when Ben suddenly took hold of my hand in the car, and they just screamed!"

Though Krystle looks after the family now — Ben said he doesn't need to look for a nanny or a secretary because "Krystle hires anyone I need now!" — she does sometimes get mistaken for one of the kids.

"Krystle has been mistaken for my daughter many, many times," Ben revealed. "When we vacation together as a family or pose for a family portrait, people mistake Krystle for being one of my three daughters. It doesn't bother me — I'm used to it now."

"They tell me that he'll start a relationship with the next nanny that comes along and that 'you can't turn a h-- into a housewife,'" Krystle shares, "but Ben and I have been together a long time. I guess people online are interested in us because the nanny becoming the stepmom is like a story line out of a romantic comedy."

Is the Romano family a modern day Brady Bunch? Let PopCrush know your thoughts by connecting with us on Twitter at @PopCrush.

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