05 July 2023 , 12:24
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A woman has been dubbed the "female Benjamin Button" after being regularly mistaken for her daughter's sister.
Carly Johnson, 40, is the proud mum of Kia Douglas, 17, but finds people often think the pair are pals, despite their 23-year-age gap.
Thankfully, "young at heart" Carly doesn't mind the confusion, which the mother-daughter duo are happy to laugh about. Although it does sometimes lead to awkward hiccups, according to the mum, from Stockport, Greater Manchester.
She explained: "We get mistaken for sisters all the time. It happens everywhere. I take it as a compliment.
"We went out for Kia's 17th birthday and I asked a waiter if he could take a picture when my daughter came back from the toilet and he was so confused. He thought we were two friends out for dinner.
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Kia (left) and Carly (right) often confuse strangers (Kennedy News/@Carlyjohnson123)
But they laugh about mix-ups (Kennedy News/@Carlyjohnson123)"On holiday someone told Kia to tell her sister the food was ready. She told her I was her mum and she brought the staff out to show them. They were so shocked."
Luckily, the pair take everything in their stride. "Kia doesn't mind it. She's not embarrassed. We're really close and we share clothes," said Carly.
As for her youthful look, she puts it down to her "good genes". "People call me Benjamin Button and that I age backwards. I've always looked young for my age. When I was 21 I probably looked like 16," explained the mum-of-one.
"I think my secret is good genes. My mum's 68 and she looks good and my nana was in her 90s and fit as a fiddle. Hospital staff would read her age out and think they'd got it wrong. I tend to date younger men. I'm not a cradle snatcher but because I look young that's what I seem to attract. Lads seem to have a thing for an older woman.
Carly has been dubbed the "female Benjamin Button" (Kennedy News/@Carlyjohnson123)
Carly, pictured at 26, says she's always looked young for her age (Kennedy News/@Carlyjohnson123)"Even though I am 40, I'm quite young at heart so I think older men have a different mindset to me. I'm still 25 in my head."
She added: "Sometimes I'll post on my story and guys will ask who my friend is because she's so hot and I'll tell them it's literally my daughter. That's a bit awkward."
More recently, the duo shocked social media users when Carly's tweet wishing Kia happy birthday, last week, went viral. Carly's post featuring a photo of her and Kia has been liked more than 1,600 times and received two million views. One parent replied: "You're both absolutely gorgeous! I hope I look as good as you when my son turns 17 in 15 years."
A second commenter questioned: "Which ones the daughter?" Another joked: "Is this a magic show?"