A retired priest who married a Romanian male model 50 years his junior says Brexit will not break them.

Philip Clements, 80, and Florin Marin, 25, have been enjoying a long distance relationship for the past seven months after they separated weeks after the former clergyman transferred ownership of his flat to his young love.

The pair whose turbulent marriage has survived public scrutiny including an appearance on the Jeremy Kyle show are, this week, enjoying some quality time together in Dover ahead of the impending March 29 Brexit deadline.

Philip Clements says Brexit will not break his relationship with Florin Marin

While they understand Britain's departure from the European Union might make their oversea's relationship more difficult, they say they won't let it break them.

Mr Clements said: "Travel is going to be more difficult and I won't have the complete open and easy access to the continent that I have at present.

"I don't know if I will need a visa to go to Spain or Romania.

"But it won't break us. Brexit doesn't mean Brexit for Florin and me. Not at all.

"These political differences won't break up our relationship. It may make it a bit more difficult."

The former Dover Grammar School pupil who worked at libraries in Deal and Sandwich before beginning his training for the Anglican ministry, voted to remain.

He added: "Having lived through the Second World War - I was only a baby - that divided Europe completely, I thought that the EU would guarantee that that wouldn't happen again."

Mr Marin, who voted on the contrary, is concerned he'll need a visa to travel to England.

He said: "I voted leave because so many people are on benefits from my country and other countries. We are hard working the Romanian people and others but so many of them are just on benefits.

"When I was working in the UK, I found out my money, a penny or two, was going to men who are staying at home with a beer and games. It's ridiculous.

"And I'm working eight to 12 hours a day!"

He continued: "With Brexit coming, we'll see if it will be a big problem for us.

"I don't like to have to have a visa with my passport when I come to England and to me it's ridiculous as I'm married to a British man."

Mr Clements, an ex-priest in Eastry near Sandwich, met Mr Marin on an online dating site four years ago.

The pair made a stance against Church of England rules that bar clergymen from same-sex marriage.

Mr Clements then sold his £214,000 Eastry home to buy a flat in Mr Marin's native city Bucharest where they planned to start a new life together.

But just weeks after the clergyman transferred ownership of the flat over to Mr Marin, the pair split and Mr Marin later admitted on Romanian Fashionista TV that he was dating someone else.

They reconciled in May 2018 but have continued to live separately, with Mr Clements residing in a friend's annex near Eastry and Mr Marin living in Elche in Alicante, Spain, where he works for a car rental company.

This week, they're sharing quality time together in Dover with cinema trips and dinners with friends, before Mr Marin returns to Spain where he'll begin flat hunting for the two of them.

Mr Clements said: "When Florin goes back to Spain at the end of this week, he's going to look around for a small place where we can be, if only temporarily and that I want to be our home.

"I will spend two months with him there and every third month I would come back to England.

"That's our long term hope that wherever his work takes him, we would have a base and probably in Spain - more likely in Spain because of Brexit."

But the pair will be renting as Mr Marin is refusing to sell his flat which he bought using money from a previous home he shared with Mr Clements in Bucharest.

He said: "People say in England sell the house and give the money back but that will not happen, never. I won't sell it never. It's a present from my husband."

Mr Clement who doesn't necessarily agree with his husband's choice says he will respect it.

He said: "I don't understand it completely because if we sold it we'd have the reserves to buy a little flat in Spain but he, for some reason and he's never properly explained, wants to hold on to the flat.

"That's his decision and I respect it."

Mr Marin has addressed claims that he's a gold digger as well as the negative comments made over the couple's age-gap relationship.

He said: "I'm not English but I know what it means. It's just a name.

"I like gold and I like money. I like shirts and nice clothes.

"I would advise them to keep carry on comment because I have a good laugh every time with my glass on wine on the sofa."

Mr Clements, who is hoping to have an autobiography entitled Eunuch Priest published by the end of the year, says it's his husband's sense of humour.

He said: "It's partly his sense of humour, but partly because he does enjoy money, but who doesn't? Money is important and we wish we could make more.

"I think it's very honest of him. When we first met he probably was attracted by the fact I could afford to buy him nice presents.

"I bought him nice presents occasionally because I enjoyed doing that not because he asked. He's never asked me to buy him anything."

He added: "The important thing to note is that Florin and I are together and nobody is going to stop us being together."