Oh, I get that, JS. I am also a long time fan (more than 30 years watching now). The ages and the SORAS thing are so ridiculous on this show, that's why I'm willing to forget many things in order to have the much desired romance. And I do see Hope and Rafe as a romantic couple. NOT Jennifer and Eric, because I see them as two addicts trying to hold on, not anything romantic or remotely pleasant.
But to get back on the Hope and Rafe topic, if I stop to think that Rafe was married to Sami (and I so don't want to think about Sami), of course I will have a problem with a pairing between Hope and Rafe. Thus, I try to forget. And, again, it's much easier to forget when it could lead to something pleasant, than to forget stories and characters when it's for ridiculous plot lines (hello, I'm talking to you, Maggie and Summer), or disgusting ones, at least in my opinion (Kristen and Brady, Jennifer and Eric).
The same thing could be said for all storylines on Days. Paul being John's son, or this new Helena thing with Victor and Deimos. I could never be onboard with any storyline on Days if I were to pick apart everything. Because most of it doesn't make sense time wise. But if I find a storyline interesting, I can get over these things. So since I like Paul, I can accept he's John's son. I like Nicole and the actress who plays her, so if it gives her air time, and if Nicole and Victor team up against Deimos, I'm all for it. But the Maggie thing with Summer, or the Egg Baby thing with Maggie and Daniel, nope, it was so bad, I could not be on board. And it had nothing to do with the timelines, it had to do with the writing.