A 93-year-old new dad wants more children with his wife – who is more than half a century younger than him – after the couple welcomed a baby boy last year.
Melbourne GP Dr John Levin, a healthy ageing expert born in the 1930s, and his second wife Dr Yangying Lu, 37, welcomed their son Gabby in February 2024.
Dr Levin’s first wife Veronica, with whom he shared three children, died after 57 years of marriage in 2013, and one of his children died at the age of 65.
The Hampton East GP decided to learn Chinese and fell in love with his teacher, Dr Lu, whom he married in Las Vegas in 2014.
A decade later, Dr Levin told the Herald Sun that welcoming his son was unbelievable after an arduous process that included donor sperm and IVF.
Dr Levin said that, despite his age, he intends to be there for all of his son’s childhood: ‘Of course being there for his 21st is a goal.’
Another significant moment the Jewish GP plans to see is Gabby’s bar mitzvah where he will read the Torah with his son: ‘It’s such an important moment. I want to guide him through it.’
Gabby is still an infant but already the couple are looking into having a second baby and have returned to the IVF process.
‘We’re thinking of another one, we’d like to have a little girl,’ the GP told Nova 100.
Dr Lu had not considered pursuing motherhood until the Covid pandemic forced Melbourne into lockdown.
‘We did some soul-searching, asking ourselves where do we want to be, what do we want to see in our lives in 10 years’ time,’ she told the Herald.
‘I thought to myself, if I lose him (Dr Levin), I want a part of him. I wanted to have a child.
‘I was very lucky. We achieved a pregnancy on the first try… It can be so difficult for many women. One of my mothers’ group took 14 cycles to produce her daughter.’
While Dr Levin had sounded decisive on plans for a second child, Dr Lu added: ‘We’re still talking!’
She rebuffed cynicism about entering a relationship with a man who is 56 years her senior, denying any ‘gold-digger’ claims by saying Dr Levin was bankrupt when she met him, and that it was a love match.
The mother also addressed misconceptions people might have about baby Gabby.
‘People think at first that he is Johnny’s grandson, or sometimes great-grandson,’ she said.
‘When we explain they can’t contain their surprise. But for us, it’s about the choices that make us happy. We can’t control how other people feel.’
Dr Lu, who is converting to Judaism in preparation, said she is prepared to parent on her own in the future.
‘With modern families these days you see different types of families and they make it work,’ she said.
‘If other people can make it work, so can I.’
Gabby’s maternal grandmother is also helping the new family, and Dr Lu praised the ‘community’ supporting them thanks to her husband’s large family.
This includes Dr Levin’s three children from his first marriage: Greg, who was 65 when he died in 2024 from motor neurone disease, Ashley, 62, and Samantha, 60.
The GP has ten grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
Dr Levin has spent almost 20 years sharing anti-ageing advice with patients before they reached their 60s.
In his own life, he has injected human growth hormone for 30 years and has a strict lifestyle including going to the gym and eating no meals before noon – most of which are vegetarian. He doesn’t drink alcohol or smoke.
