In a love story that has stunned a village in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, a woman—mother of nine and grandmother of two—has left her family and husband to be with her 20-year-old boyfriend, who is younger than her own sons.

The drama unfolded in Jalalabad tehsil, where the middle-aged woman fell for a mehndi artist who frequented her village. Their affair came to light when her daughter-in-law caught the two in a compromising situation. Outraged, the family intervened, but the woman defied them all and fled with her young lover on April 29, taking along her two youngest children.

Her husband, who works at a brick kiln, said that despite repeated warnings, she refused to break off the relationship. The affair became a public scandal, and police had to intervene after the woman returned to the village but refused to live with her husband or children.

What adds more tension is that the young man she’s in love with is engaged and set to be married on May 6. He claims the woman has emotionally manipulated him, even threatening suicide if he left her. “She followed me to Bareilly and forced me to return to the village,” he told police.

In front of authorities, a high-voltage scene played out as the woman remained adamant about living with her lover, ignoring the pleas of her family and the discomfort of the young man himself.

So far, no formal complaint has been filed, but the emotional and social turmoil has shaken both families and the entire village.