25-year-old Mauricio Ossola who moved in with his 91-year-old  great aunt Yolanda in the city of Salta, north-west Argentina, eight years ago after his parents split up, reportedly got married to her so he could collect a widower’s pension after she dies.

MirrorUK reports that Mauricio, who planned to quit his law studies due to financial constraints, was told by his aunt who he shares a home with alongside his mother, his brother and their grandmother, that she will do anything to make sure he graduates.

Speaking to newsmen, Mauricio disclosed that he proposed getting married to his Great Aunt, which she gladly accepted.

“I said to Yolanda after the separation of my parents: ‘Look Ulita, I’m going to have to abandon my studies’. Those were the circumstances that led to us getting married,” Mauricio said.

“Yolanda insisted I had to finish my studies.  She would say to me, ‘I’m going to help you because you always take care of me, you go with me to the doctor’s and you’re always helping me with my problems’. After some time had gone by, I asked her what she would think if I asked her to marry me.”

However Mauricio who has already applied to start getting the widower’s pension after his aunt Yolanda passed away from sepsis, was denied the benefit by social services after the 91-year-old woman’s neighbours told them that they knew nothing about the marriage.

However, he insists that his union to his great-aunt was perfectly legal and he will fight the decision to reject his application for the pension even if he has to go all the way to Argentina’s Supreme Court.

“I loved Yolanda in the purest way you can love someone and that feeling, along with the pain her loss caused me, will remain with me for the rest of my life,” he said.