At 56, Angela Peters defied expectations marrying a Nigerian man 20 years her junior and giving birth to twin girls, despite her family’s disapproval.
For most of her life, Angela, from the Gold Coast, Australia, devoted herself to raising her five children and later, doting on her 12 grandchildren. After divorcing her husband in 2019, at 51, she believed her days of family expansion were over. “I had five incredible children and now could focus on myself, travel, and starting my own business in disability services,” she told The Sun.
But fate had other plans. By March 2020, curious about online dating, Angela began chatting with a Nigerian man named Emeka, who lived in Senegal. While there wasn’t a spark with him, everything changed when he shared a family photo. In it, Angela spotted Emeka’s brother, Bright and instantly felt a connection. “It was like a thunderbolt I knew this was the man I was meant to be with.”
With Emeka’s blessing, Angela contacted Bright, and despite their vastly different lives he worked in South Africa, supporting his family, with no marriage or children they clicked. When Angela revealed she likely couldn’t have more children, Bright wasn’t fazed. In fact, he insisted they’d one day have twin girls together.
They met face-to-face in Nigeria in February 2021. Angela recalled, “Hugging him for the first time, I felt like I’d known him my whole life.” The next day, Bright proposed. Nine days later, they married in a small civil ceremony.
Understandably, Angela’s children were horrified, fearing she’d been scammed and shocked at how fast it all happened. Still, something nagged at Angela about Bright never becoming a father. Though she was 54, she explored IVF, only to learn Australia’s age limit was 52.
Her daughters refused when she asked them to consider surrogacy. But during a visit to Nigeria, a local clinic agreed to perform IVF using a donor egg and Bright’s sperm. Though her children worried about her carrying babies at 56, Angela, fit and healthy, went ahead.
In December 2023, their dream came true they were expecting twins. Just as Bright had predicted, they were girls. In August 2024, Khorus and Knowyn were born in Nigeria, both weighing 5lb and their parents were overwhelmed with joy.
Despite some online trolls calling her “selfish” on TikTok, where one of her daughters suggested she share her story, Angela remains unapologetic. “No one cares when men have kids in their 60s and no one’s guaranteed tomorrow.”
Often mistaken for their grandmother, Angela brushes it off. She’s thankful her twins united the entire family, hoping her story inspires other women longing for motherhood.
“To those who dream of motherhood later in life don’t lose hope,” she says. “My journey crossed continents, but it led me here. Both my hands and my heart are full.”
