A 22-year-old social media influencer has spoken out after facing widespread online criticism for marrying a man nearly four decades older — who was once her high school teacher.
Minea Pagni, a medical student and digital content creator, recently shared her personal love story on Instagram, where she revealed that her husband, whom she refers to as “Massimo,” is 60 years old. The revelation quickly sparked intense debate across social media platforms, with some users accusing her of entering the marriage for financial reasons.
In response to the backlash, Pagni addressed the criticism in an interview with the New York Post, firmly rejecting the assumptions being made about her relationship.
“Reducing a woman’s choices to money is one of the oldest and most unfair stereotypes,” she said. “I have my own ambitions, my own career, and my own independence. I married him for who he is — his intelligence, his values, and the way he treats me.”
Pagni explained that she first met Massimo when she was 17 and he was her philosophy teacher in high school. She emphasized that their romantic relationship did not begin until several years later, after she was an adult.
According to Pagni, they reconnected when she was 21 after running into each other at a bookstore. It was there that she finally admitted she had once had a crush on him. Roughly a year later, the two were married.
Through a series of social media posts, Pagni said she decided to share her story publicly to challenge the stigma often attached to relationships with large age gaps and to push back against what she described as societal prejudice.
In November 2025, she publicly opened up about the relationship, reflecting on her early admiration for her former teacher.
“Many years ago, in the school of my small hometown, something happened that happens to many students,” she wrote. “I found myself drawn to a teacher — a man whose age didn’t match the brilliance of his mind. Curious, passionate, alive.”
She described how his love of learning inspired her own personal growth, noting that what began as admiration eventually turned into a quiet crush. Years later, after giving him her phone number in a bookstore and not hearing back, she began attending his public lectures out of what she described as “nostalgia, curiosity, or maybe hope.”
Eventually, Pagni said she found the courage to invite him for coffee — a moment she described as the turning point in their story.
Now married for a year, she says their connection continues to surprise them both.
“Even today, we look at each other with amazement,” she wrote. “We’re astonished by how deeply we connect, despite the age difference and our very different lives.”
The couple’s 38-year age gap has continued to fuel online debate. Some social media users expressed discomfort, with one commenter writing that Massimo “looks like he could be her father.”
Another commenter, identifying themselves as a teacher, criticized the relationship, saying former students should always be viewed as children by their educators, regardless of time passed.
Pagni acknowledged the criticism but said it has not shaken her confidence.
“I knew not everyone would understand,” she said. “But I wasn’t prepared for how intense some reactions would be. Still, I’ve learned that criticism often reveals more about society’s fears than about our love.”
The influencer’s story has continued to spark conversation online, highlighting ongoing debates around age-gap relationships, personal choice, and public judgment in the era of viral social media.