It was a love affair for the ages - but time could not stand still for lawyer, ... trends now
EXCLUSIVE
An unlikely Australian love story which transfixed romantics and cynics alike has come to an end with the death of a 48-year-old lawyer's 104-year-old girlfriend.
Estonian-born Mart Soeson is mourning the loss of Elfriede Riit, his sweetheart of more than a decade, after she peacefully passed away at a nursing home in Sydney's west on Saturday afternoon.
Daily Mail Australia has learnt that when Ms Riit knew her time had come, she said goodbye to Mr Soeson then crossed her hands on her chest and died.
The couple's relationship captivated readers when it was revealed Mr Soeson was seeking a visa to remain in Australia on the basis Ms Riit was his de facto partner.
Ms Riit, who was also Estonian, fled Europe after World War II and had previously been married to Mr Soeson's grandfather.
An unlikely Australian love story that transfixed romantics and cynics alike has come to a sad end with the death of 48-year-old lawyer Mart Soeson's 104-year-old girlfriend Elfriede Riit. The couple, pictured above, had an 11-year relationship
Ms Riit suffered from Alzheimer's disease and had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder with depressive symptoms. She had hearing and vision impairment. Mr Soeson is pictured lifting Ms Riit out of a Maxi Cab and into a wheelchair
After Mr Soeson's permanent residency visa application was rejected in December 2018 he took the matter to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
The Department of Home Affairs would not accept the pair's commitment was real and Mr Soeson was forced to prove his feelings for Ms Riit were legitimate.
At a hearing before the tribunal in February, Mr Soeson was grilled for three hours about the nature of his union with Ms Riit and what they meant to each.
Mr Soeson admitted the pair did not share a bedroom and had never had sex but insisted their half-century age difference was irrelevant.
'Yes, I know we have the age gap,' Mr Soeson told Daily Mail Australia. 'And I know it's an issue for some people.
'But generally, age gap is an issue in the case of an older woman and younger man. It's never an issue in case of an older man and young woman - but I'm not able to change that attitude.'
Ms Riit had attended the tribunal in a wheelchair when the case was first listed for hearing in January but was too distressed and disoriented to take part in proceedings.
Elfriede Ritt and Mart Soeson's relationship captivated readers when it was revealed he was seeking to remain in Australia on the basis she was his de facto partner. The couple is pictured outside the Administrative Appeals Tribunal
Mr Soeson said he and Ms Riit had never had sex but insisted their half-century age difference was irrelevant. They are pictured celebrating Ms Riit's 100th birthday
When the tribunal hearing resumed the next month, Mr Soeson unsuccessfully sought to have media excluded from covering the case because Ms Riit felt it had already attracted too much attention.
'It's a personal affair for her,' Mr Soeson said. 'She doesn't want to be like a celebrity.'
That day, tribunal member David David Barker took Mr Soeson through each concern Home Affairs had expressed when it originally denied his visa.
Mr Barker told Mr Soeson the law did not require him to being having sex with Ms Riit for their relationship to be recognised but asked if could confirm there had never been any sexual intimacy between them.
'Yes, none,' he told Mr Barker.
'We have intimacy - holding hands, hugs, kissing. We have a spiritual and intellectual relationship. We have a strong emotional connection to each other.'
Mr Soeson told the Administrative Appeals Tribunal his relationship with Ms Riit became romantic in January 2013 when he was 37 and she was 92. She is pictured in 1957 aged 30
Mr Soeson met Ms Riit in early 1996 when he came to Australia to study advanced English and she invited him to stay in her home at Bankstown.
Ms Riit knew of Mr Soeson as the grandson of her late husband Alfred - she had been his second wife - who, like her, left Estonia when it was annexed by the USSR.
It was not love at first sight and 'nothing happened overnight', according to Mr Soeson,
He eventually
