New Jersey-based Claudio Spilatro, who owns ski and snowboard rental company Pelican Shops, said his younger partner was “everything” he was looking for when his marriage of 18 years ended.
According to Spilatro, who spoke with South West News Service in the UK, people have condemned his relationship with 25 years old Atadja, saying that she’s using him for his money, and she doesn’t love him but he believes that “Relationships have to be mutually beneficial.”
He said they hit it off as soon as they met on a dating app, Seeking, in 2017– and they have been inseparable ever since.
“I searched the whole world for a girl like Semie — she’s beautiful.”
Atadja, an estate agent and content creator also from New Jersey, said her older lover is just what she was looking for as well.
“I was just tired of dating losers,” she admitted, adding that she loves how happy and genuine he is.
“I recognized on the app there are older guys there and with older age would come with more wisdom,” she continued. “[He’s a] problem solver [and] allows me to be myself — a lot of guys aren’t confident enough to do that.”
Since they started dating, the couple has travelled the world together — flying first class, staying in five-star resorts and hiring private chefs, and going on vacation at least once a month, which Spilatro loves.
“I was happily married for 18 years, and it came a time in my life, around 40, when I asked my wife to travel, and she never wanted to, so we got a divorce,” Spilatro explained.
The couple now only spends a week at a time at home and the rest of the time traveling the world.
“We’ve been whale watching in Hawaii, skiing in the Alps, visited our second home in the Dominican Republic and so much more,” Atadja listed.
“I love it — it’s euphoric,” she continued. “I get to travel the world and make awesome amazing memories — I keep thinking, ‘Is this real?’”
Although their families were supportive of their relationship, when Atadja started making TikTok content, she jokingly called herself a “gold digger” in videos.
“It took [my family] a while to understand that it was just comedy,” Spilatro admitted.
“My sisters were at first worried about me, but then I feel like the more I brought them around, they saw that I was genuinely happy,” Atadja chimed in. “They just see it as I have a boyfriend — nothing more.”
The couple claims they are open to marriage one day.
“He’s saying he likes it, but I don’t see a ring yet,” Atadja joked
“I could see marriage in the future, but at the moment it’s perfect the way it is,” Spilatro added.