WALKING to the pool bar in a glitzy gold size-8 string bikini with her long brunette hair trailing down her perfectly-toned back, Carron Burley feels all eyes on her.
As she waits for the barman to mix her a mango daiquiri a man in his twenties asks if he can buy her the drink, or even dinner, but Carron is old enough to be his mum.
She politely declines, pointing out her husband who is waiting for her at the other side of the pool.
Then she tells her admirer that she is in fact a 58-year-old gran of two and step-gran of one.
“Men never believe how old I am, they are always convinced that I’m winding them up,” says Carron, speaking exclusively to Fabulous.
“But I’m proud to be really hot and I work hard to stay in shape.
“I’m proud I am the same size I was when I was 18 and that was four decades ago.”
And while other women her age might be using all their energy to battle the symptoms which come with the menopause, Carron uses hers to constantly look good.
With such an incredible figure, it’s hard to believe that she has two grown-up kids, aged 35 and 31 from a previous marriage.
Carron says: “I’m not sure what shocks people the most – that I’m a tanned and ripped 58-year-old bikini wearing granny or that my oldest child is 35.
“I run forty kilometres a week, gym, swim and indulge in hours of gardening to stay in shape.”
The part-time hospital theatre nurse lives near Sheffield, South Yorks, with her husband and plasterer Ray Clough 69, in a four-bedroom converted barn.
“People constantly ask me how I keep myself so fit and youthful looking,” Carron adds.
“That’s easy, lots of exercise, slathering on pound shop body lotion and great sex. You must work it, or you lose it.
“I still shop at Next, Topshop, Boohoo and all the on-trend stores. I won’t be dressing in a twinset and pearls ever. I still fit into the same size clothes I wore as a teenager.
“I love my bikinis. I love wearing short skirts and showing off my tan. If you dress old you will look old,” she insists.
But Carron admits that her exercise regime was initially born out of tragedy than choice.
She met her first husband, Mick, then 34, the father of her children, through work when she was 19 and they welcomed their first daughter in September 1989 followed by their son in March 1994.
“I was busy working and raising our children and very occasionally went to the gym,” Carron explains.
“I married Mick fourteen years after we met, when I was 33.”
I had to keep paying the bills, grieve my husband’s death and be a good mum. I wasn’t eating and went down to just six and a half stone which was so unhealthy and tiny. I was trying to keep it all together
Carron Burley, 58
But during their first year of marriage, Mick was diagnosed with a type of cancer called lymphoma, a type of blood cancer that affects the immune system, and tragically passed away the same year.
At just 34, Carron was suddenly a widow.
“I was grief stricken. My whole world changed,” she recalls.
“I had to keep paying the bills, grieve my husband’s death and be a good mum. I wasn’t eating and went down to just six and a half stone which was so unhealthy and tiny. I was trying to keep it all together.”
Then, a year later, a friend of Carron’s encouraged her to join her in the gym to help take her mind off her grief.
She says: “I never saw myself as a fitness freak. I didn’t understand what people raved about.
“My friend took me, and I loved it. It saved my life and gave me a fresh drive.
“She also suggested I start running. I loved that too. Running became my special ‘my time’. It helped with my grief, made me fitter and gave me more energy.”
Carron says she and Ray literally met ‘over the garden fence’ in 2007.
She says: “I moved next door to Ray with my two children.
Ray and I have a great love life. That’s the key to staying fit, making love at least three times a week and enjoying each other’s bodies
Carron, 58
“But for two years we never actually ran into each other.”
In 2009, Carron sent Ray a message via the Dating Direct app and they hit it off.
She says: “We had a coffee together and really clicked.
“We started dating and in 2012 we decided to move in together.
“I loved that he was into rally car driving, and he got me into it too. He also plays in a rock band and runs his own business, which I admire.”
They married in May 2019 in Barbados.
Carron says: “Ray is my breath of fresh air, and I adore him.
“He thought I was out of his league when I started dating him. My dating profile said I liked tall dark-haired men but Ray is stocky and blonde. We fell for each other immediately.
It’s not a chore for me. I love exercising. It got me through the worst time in my life and if I don’t exercise, I can turn into a grumpy old cow
Carron, 58
“He was divorced and helped me find joy in dating again after being widowed.”
Carron has no intentions of letting her appearance slip and has just one exercise free day a week.
“It’s not a chore for me. I love exercising. It got me through the worst time in my life and if I don’t exercise, I can turn into a grumpy old cow,” she says.
And Carron also says she has no regrets about breast enlargement surgery which took her from a size 32A to a 36D.
“I was super slim; my boobs were non-existent, and I was muscled from exercise. I had the boob job for me and no one else,” she insists.
“The surgery gave me more of a drive and I love my breasts and my overall shape.”
I tell other grannies and mums you can have a fit body and look good in your late fifties and sixties
Carron, 58
To maintain her youthful glow, Carron regularly has her haircut and coloured and has only recently dabbled in beauty ‘tweakments’ such as Botox and one lot of lip filler.
She puts the rest of her good looks down to washing her face with soap and water and cheap moisturising products including SPF from Aldi, Lidl and pound shops.
She also sticks to healthy eating including grilled fish, lean meat, wholemeal bread and fruit. And she enjoys the odd glass of wine or prosecco.
And while women in the sixth decade are in the midst of menopause symptoms including weight gain, brain fog and mood swings, Carron says she has barely suffered herself.
She says: “I started the menopause eight years ago. I had some hot flashes and bloating, but I am lucky my exercise and healthy eating meant I didn’t suffer as much as some women do.”
She also says gardening – whilst wearing very little if the sun is out – has helped her defy ageing.
She says: “I love the feel of soil in my hands. I love nurturing my plants and I love the sun on every part of my body. It’s the same when I go nude hiking with Ray, if it’s warm I’ll take off my clothes.”
She also adds that regular sex and ‘enjoying each other’s bodies’ is key to keeping ageing at bay.
“Ray and I have a great love life, making love at least three times a week and enjoying each other’s bodies,” she explains.
“Ray is in a band and I get to play groupie. We love going out all dressed up for races and parties and just enjoying ourselves.”
However, Carron’s hot gran status sometimes has its negatives.
She says: “I was working out at a gym recently and two blokes were perving at me. It was really unpleasant, they made crude jokes about my age and appearance.”
But Carron refuses to let the critics win and urges other women to follow her lead and says there’s no room for laziness.
“Move it or lose it,” she insists.
“I’ll be wearing a bikini into old age and being a hot buff nana in my nineties.”
“I am blessed with a great body, but it takes exercise and passion. Ray is an amazing husband and often tells me I am ageing backwards.
“I tell other grannies and mums you can have a fit body and look good – whatever your age.”
