Brit grandma, 56, promises wedding to 9th toyboy is for keeps

London, Jan 11 (ANI): A grandmother in Britain, who is set to marry for the ninth time, has insisted that the marriage, to a toyboy 32-years her junior, will last forever.

Pat Higgins, 56, who has never married an older man, earned herself the title Black Widow after her eight previous marriages ended in divorce, with the longest lasting five-years and the shortest just five days.

"I'm an eternal optimist and have thought every marriage was going to work," the Daily Mail quoted Higgins, who is studying for a sociology and social politics degree through the Open University, as saying.

"The truth is, I have been unlucky in love. But when I walk down the aisle with my ninth husband, I'll make a secret vow to myself as well as to him: no more weddings, this time it has to last forever," she stated.

She is set to marry supermarket worker Mark Sanderson, 24, who she met on a night out in Newcastle upon Tyne in November 2009, next year after he proposed last September.

But Sanderson's family are said to be furious about the wedding plans - not least his mother, Jennifer, who is seven years younger than the bride-to-be.

"Mark's fallen head over heels but ended up with someone who eats younger men for breakfast," one of his friend's said.

Higgins, who has five adopted children and lives in Longbenton, North Tyneside, defended her own actions.

"I'm young at heart so young men suit me better. People call me a man-eater and a black widow, which is silly. I'm not a predator, I just like to be happy in life," she added. (ANI)