In this episode of Karamo’s talk show, host Karamo interviews Rachel (48) and her boyfriend Alex (25) about their high‑profile age‑gap relationship that went viral after a TikTok about "how to keep your woman happy" amassed hundreds of thousands of views. The conversation traces Rachel’s background—her 26‑year marriage that ended in depression—and how she met Alex on a dating app despite the age difference. They discuss the immediate physical chemistry, the rapid development of their relationship, and the backlash that followed the TikTok’s popularity, including concerns from Rachel’s high‑school teaching job and confusion from viewers who thought Rachel was Alex’s mother. The couple shares family reactions: Rachel’s family is accepting, while Alex’s family is dismissive. Trust issues surface as Alex admits to "micro‑cheating"—flirting on Snapchat, keeping Hinge installed, and adding women to a Snapchat Spotlight page—prompting Karamo to unlock Alex’s phone for transparency. Alex describes steps he’s taken to respect Rachel’s boundaries, such as deleting Instagram and Facebook. Karamo offers candid, intervention‑style coaching, urging Rachel not to excuse harmful behavior and to set firm limits. The episode highlights themes of age‑gap stigma, the consequences of social‑media exposure on personal and professional life, navigating trust and boundaries, and the role of a relationship therapist in mediating conflict.
Chapters
We are no strangers to this situation on my show. Couples post their relationships on TikTok, and every time they post about their relationships, they open themselves up to the opinions of strangers. And my guest Rachel and her boyfriend Alex made a TikTok about how to keep your woman happy and quickly caught the attention of her job and their families. Why? Because Rachel is 48 and Alex, is 25 years old. No shade. Listen, it ain't just Stella. It's also Rachel getting her groove back, all right? Joining me now is Rachel, everyone. Yeah. Yes, Rachel. Give me a hug. Good job. Come on. Y'all stop playing. Y'all didn't know that 48 meant 25? 25, here you go. How are you doing?
I'm doing great, thank you.
Well, thank you for my reaction, the audience reaction. You had not only such a beautiful inner light, but you have such a beautiful outward too. Oh, thank you. You work.
Thank you, thank you.
All right, so tell me quickly, how did you meet your boyfriend, Alex?
Well, it's quite a story. I'm from Texas and I had just gotten out of a very long marriage. And I just wanted to have some fun. I'm very energetic, I'm very active. It's kind of my personality. And so one of my friends convinced me to get on one of these dating apps that all the, you know, kids are on these days. And so I thought, okay, sure, why not? I had no idea what I was doing. So I got on and apparently my age range was like all ranges, which I didn't really know how to, work it. Does that sound terrible? So Alex had actually DM'd me or sent me a message, and I had waited because I could tell— I didn't see his age, but I could tell he was young. So I said, he looks kind of young. And I'm always young at heart, always have been, and I didn't have anything against dating a younger guy, but he looked really young. So I was like, meh, but you know, it couldn't hurt. I just I'll text him. So I messaged him and he almost immediately messaged back and we started talking and it was so easy. We immediately had this banter and so we had great conversation and the next day we continued speaking and about the third day is when the age came up.
Because he was 23 at the time.
Yes, and I was 46.
And so were you hesitant when you found out that he was 23?
Oh yeah, oh yeah, yeah. I said, you know, I'm 46. And he said, yes, I know. And I said, well, how old are you? And he was like, you know, How old do you think I am? And all that stuff. And finally he was like, I'm 23. And I was like, oh, no, no, no, no, no. That is way too young. But we just kept talking because it was so easy. And within a week, I think, he called me. And instantly when I heard his voice, I was like, oh my God.
So when you met him in person, what was it like for you?
Oh my gosh. There was an instant, like— Physical attraction, obviously. Of course. He is very hot.
And— As are you.
Oh, well, thank you.
Yes.
I try. No, but it was like sparks.
Yeah.
It was like nothing I've ever had. And he will tell you the same.
You were in a relationship that was pretty bad for years.
Yeah.
How long were you together with your ex?
26 years.
26 years. And did it turn into a place where it was not healthy in what ways for you?
Yes, for me, I was just very, very unhappy. I'm really bad at not speaking up for myself. And I just got into a place where I was in deep depression and just sad. And, you know, I knew I had to do something about it.
Sometimes it's easy just to judge the age and judge these things on the outside. But you were coming from a space where you were in a bad relationship, where there was not the communication, where you didn't feel sexy, where you didn't get supported. And so for you, you now found someone where you could have a little fun with.
Exactly.
Yeah, I get it. I get it. So what happened the first time you all posted your first TikTok?
Well, I was a high school teacher and we, Alex had never had or done TikTok or anything like that, but I had before.
So I love that you're convincing the 24-year-old.
So we, we posted this, you know, there was some sexual innuendo on there. Didn't think a thing about it. We were in the gym and I remember my students were texting me and they were like, your TikTok is It's blowing up. And I was like, my TikTok, they've seen me. And so I ran over and I was like, check the TikTok, check the TikTok. And he looked on it and it was like 300-something thousand views already. And it was climbing, it was going like this fast. And 200-something comments from my school students. And I was like, take it down, take it down, take it down.
Because the first TikTok did cause issues with you at work. Because my producers told me is that you had to prove that he wasn't a woman and you're a student.
That he was not a high school student.
Wow. But this could have been really detrimental to your career. And I bring that up because people forget the ramifications of if they would have thought that this is your student. You could have immediately been fired. And that could ruin your reputation to go to even another school.
Exactly, yeah.
So I also heard that people confuse you for his mother.
That definitely has happened. They've been like, oh, mother and son, I can tell. And we were like, uh-huh. Yeah, or things like that. It has happened.
So why are you here today?
All couples have their issues that they go through. Ours are a little different than most sometimes because of our age gap. We want to, you know, debunk this double standard that there is, you know.
So what do you— what do your families say about you two being together?
My family have been very accepting.
Do you have children from your past relationship?
I do. I have two children that are not much younger, they're not much younger than Alex is. And so, at the beginning—
How old are you? Can you just give them an estimate?
No, 19 and 22.
Okay, so they're close to his age.
They're close, yeah.
And what does his family say to you?
Okay, that is a different story. They won't even say my name. They say, "That woman that you're with." Or, "That older, your older woman." Or, "That old lady," or something like that, that you live with.
And y'all have been together for 2 years? 2 years now.
Yeah.
So is there trust issues?
That's the second issue that we've had. Yeah, I started questioning, I started figuring out that, and I did accidentally find out because he was on something talking to someone when I walked in the room and I made him stop and show me. And that's when I started to see.
Have you brought him here today for me to unlock his phone?
That's part of it, yes. I see that he's sincere. I know that he knows that it's not okay and he's tried to change and I try to trust him, but every time that I do, something happens and I'm like, you know, I can only go so far. Like my heart is on the line and I just, I need to know that this is, he's really changing and he's really becoming the man that, you know, he wants to be and that I want him to be.
Please everyone help me welcome Alex to my show. How you doing, man?
Nice to meet you, man. Nice to meet you.
Hey, Rashid. How's it going?
Going well, how are you?
Good, I'm good, thank you. So you two have been dating now for 2 years.
Yes.
Did you know that Rachel was older when you met her?
Yes, I did. But as you can tell, she looks significantly younger than her age.
Beautiful, yes.
But yes, she's obviously very beautiful and we connected, we had good chemistry and I was at a place in my life where I was just, open to experiencing something different and trying it out, seeing what happened.
You're young, so this is your first serious relationship?
Yes, it is. You know, I had like, I guess you can call them relationships when I was in high school, early college, but they were definitely much more on the casual side of things. So this is my first time in a committed relationship for sure.
Got it.
I, you know, I built a lot of bad habits, you know, like I wanted attention from women to like validate myself.
Not from just one.
You told my producers that you were a microcheater. What does that mean?
Yes. So essentially—
Oh, you've heard this before?
Oh yeah. Well, since all of this has happened, I've done my research.
So essentially, just disclaimer, in Rachel and I's relationship, there's never been any type of physical cheating. However, there were times where I overstepped my boundary. I flirted with other girls on dating apps on Snapchat, you know, especially early on in our relationship. And a lot of it, you know, was an insecurity thing. I wanted that attention and validation. And even though I did love Rachel, I just made mistakes and, you know, I feel really guilty about it and it was wrong.
Have you stopped micro-cheating?
Yes, I have. So I have taken a lot of steps to stop micro-cheating. The big—
It's been a lot, a lot of steps.
So the biggest things I've done lately is I have deleted my Instagram account and I've deleted my Facebook account.
Account.
But I understand because that's a boundary that she has. And she's made it very clear to me that those are her boundaries and I wanna respect them. And that is why the main reason why I've taken that, you know, which I think is a drastic step of leaving my Facebook and Instagram.
Well, I think those things wouldn't have been such a big deal for me because I didn't have trust issues. But now, you know, anything that I see, I'm like, ah, you know, the pattern or, you know, oh, here we go again. So I think that's why those things, I'm telling you, when someone is dishonest with you and betrays your heart like that, it does something to you.
Is there anything that you feel like we're gonna find that could be damaging to this relationship, that could be damaging to you? Anything at all?
No, I do not think so.
Okay then. And the micro-cheating you said ended a long time ago, right?
Yes.
Okay, good. I'm just getting context. Well, Alex, we unlocked your phone. Okay, so you added two different women on Snapchat last week.
Yes. So Rachel and I, something we're doing right now is we're starting a Snapchat Spotlight page. Those two girls must have been some of the people that friend requested us for our videos and I had accepted them and just added them onto our account.
Sounds innocent enough. As of February 2022, you still had Hinge downloaded on your phone?
She's aware of that.
Were you aware of that?
So Rachel and I had a little bit of a break during that period and that's when I had downloaded Hinge and that's where I— Yeah, so I don't think we touched on that. We had a little bit of a break and that is when I downloaded that app and then we rekindled shortly thereafter.
Rachel, what do you think of this?
It's surprising to me, but he's been like, I see, I look at his phone all the time.
I've showed him this type of woman that reaches out to me.
We're very open. I feel like he's taken a lot of steps. And I have seen those girls that send him those, whatever it is, and he doesn't, he's like, yeah, and he'll delete 'em because random people, because that's kind of the business that we're in. We're trying to do stuff on social media. So they do reach out to him and send him weird things and that's not his fault. So I feel like he's been pretty open with me as of late, especially. I don't know.
Alex, could you do me a big, big favor?
Yes.
Could you step away so I can talk to your beautiful girlfriend?
Yes.
Thank you. I'm not in your relationship day in and day out, but when I see a strong, beautiful woman like you in front of me, it starts to break my heart immediately. You're accepting bad behaviors as normal and making excuses for his behaviors.
Yeah.
It's the truth. Do you know that? Can you see that?
Oh, I know that they're bad behaviors, yeah. I know they are. I know that they're hurtful.
And listen, I'm not here to tell you to break up or to leave this man or do any of that. I can't do it. You're a grown woman, you're strong, you're beautiful, but you're not out here looking at other men. You're not out here doing DMs. You're not out here making him have to question who you're talking to. Yeah. You're not doing any of these things.
No, no. But every, I mean, and nobody's perfect. There's not gonna be any relationship that's perfect.
I don't need any more excuses.
Everybody, you're gonna struggle with anything. It's just you have to choose what it is that you're worth, what's worth it and what's not.
No, let me tell you something, sister, and I promise you this, and I'm saying this with all, listen, when you see me lean in like this, girlfriend, it's because I feel like you're one of my girlfriends and I can just talk to you. But God, honestly, we get to these things where we start saying to ourselves, oh, well, you just gotta choose what you're gonna put up with. It's gonna be okay. Well, you gotta take this bad because you gotta take this good. That is a lie. You don't have to accept bad because you feel like that's all that is gonna be out there. So can you at least make the commitment to stop making excuses for him? Can you make that commitment?
I can.
Sister, gimme a hug. Aw. Hold on, where you going? I'll tell you where you're going. Right here to subscribe and right here to watch more. Period.
