People have pre-conceived ideas about Megan Stammers and Jeremy Forrest. She was the 15 year old schoolgirl and he was the 30 year old maths teacher who ran away together to France.
It’s very likely true that she had an all consuming crush on him, and being inexperienced in life that she could conceive of nothing else but the two of them romantically linked and happy ever after. A lot of people believe he was just a paedophile taking advantage of her immaturity. I mean, ask any feminist, every man just wants sex with a schoolgirl, right?
Both of the suggested motivations may be right. Forrest may be some evil child snatcher. Stammers may be some easily conned foolish child.
But, but, but, what if neither is the case.
What if it actually is true love?
Now then, my real life partner is much younger than me. After struggling through my life with a host of broken relationships and failed marriages, I accidentally found somebody who really is everything to me. I say this because I know from my own experience that it is possible to find true love across a fair age difference, and so this age thing needs to be discounted from people’s perceptions of this runaway pair. It really is possible that they truly are in love, despite the age difference, or even because of the age difference. It is possible that these two genuinely found love across the age gap. I actually think they did.
I mean, although only relatively recently married, and apparently ‘very happy’, if you read the blogs and social meeja, Forrest seems to have completely fallen for Stammers and to have spent a considerable time trying to deal with it, to fight it, to come to terms with it, to rationalise it, to make sense of it.
The thing is, you don’t ever make sense of real true love. Before it hits, you might think you’re in love and your life is happy and settled, but then suddenly, whoomp, something completely illogical and unexpected happens (Forrest alluded to it as like suddenly being addicted to heroin) to show you that all that you have, all its comfort and security, means nothing compared to the need to be with a different person, to walk that path to actual true love.
In this context, eventually, it seems, Forrest gave in. By walking arm-in-arm and hand-in-hand onto that ferry, he threw away absolutely everything. He no longer has a marriage, a home, and all the ‘stability’. He no longer has a job, he’ll never work as a teacher again. He no longer has his freedom. Sadly, in this context, he now no longer has his Megan. He really is left with nothing.
People will hate Forrest forever. Some will be convinced he is a dirty old man and it was all about sex with a minor, giving in to his evil ‘lust’ (Assuming they had sex, which it’s important to state hasn’t been declared one way or the other). Although knowing nothing of their relationship, some will pour sympathy on his stunned wife and look at the ‘perfect’ marriage he destroyed. Some will use the episode to talk about teacher-pupil relationships and score political points, as they always do.
So, a week of openly being with the girl he truly loved and adored was all that he got in return for throwing away absolutely everything. He must have reasoned that they wouldn’t ‘get away’ with it, but they had to follow their instincts. Yep, love really is as destructive as heroin. I can’t help feeling it is a complete tragedy for these two.
Stammers screamed and cried as the two were pulled apart in Bordeaux. She was heartbroken. All that she loved and cherished was being taken away from her, probably forever.
She will be brought back to the UK, where people will spend their time convincing her she was never in real love, just going through a crush phase, and that Forrest never really loved her, he was just a dirty old man who took advantage.
The chattering classes will huff and puff about how terrible and ‘disgusting’ it’s all been. Their minds are made up: Forrest is damned, Stammers is stupid. Nothing will change their thoughts on that.
For Forrest and Stammers, I guess their story has no fairytale happy ending yet to come.
But in my mind, I like to hope that one day, when Forrest is free, and Stammers is old enough to be responsible for her own actions, their love might draw them together once again, and this time to let them really live happily ever after.
England's England 
There's nothing new about teachers running off with their pupils: it's been happening for decades. Sometimes it works out for them, sometimes it doesn't. What makes this one different is that it's all been so public. The papers – fuelled by the police manhunt and “distraught” parents – are even now being like a dog with a bone over it, and I feel very sorry for the couple who are now going to have to live with the consequences of that. There is always in their minds going to be this “what if…” question and I think in some ways it was a pity the elopement wasn't allowed to run its course, which would have answered that question for them. Forrest had obviously been struggling with his conscience for some while and for what it's worth I think that, irrespective of whether or not they had sex, he genuinely cared for her and still does. She was never in any real danger whatever the child protection people may try to make out. Maybe despite the brainwashing they will get together again one day: it's often the case that to try and forcibly split an “improper” relationship only serves to make the participants even more determined than ever to carry on from where they left off. Who knows….
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you,ve got to appreciate the other end of it!
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Sometimes that true love says some truly hateful things that there is no comIng back from. Even when apart, really apart, that boy never leaves you.
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