Is There An Age Difference In Love?

We tend to think that couples with a lot of age difference are only found among celebrities or famous people, but that’s not quite the case. These couples are usually not well regarded among family and friends, especially when the woman is the oldest person in the relationship.

Age difference: she, 45, he, 25

Would they have the same opinion if it were the other way around, that is, if he was 45 and she 25? It is true that the 20-year difference is the same in both cases, but socially or culturally, it seems not to be.

Couples where the woman is much older than the man are generally frowned upon. This does not mean that, for this reason, fewer unions of this type are formed, but it is true that we have been brought up in a culture that does not see with the same eyes a relationship in which men are the oldest, even if they are more years difference, and another in which the woman is the oldest.

A couple with an age difference in which the woman is the oldest is synonymous with social rejection. In cases contrary to this, that is, when a “mature” man introduces his young girlfriend, all his friends and family congratulate him on his great achievement, want to imitate him, etc. When a woman brings her much younger boyfriend home, her friends will look at her with a little envy, it’s true, but it will be harder for them to accept this union.

It is even more common for men to win over younger women than vice versa. A study in England showed that marriages in which the husband is between 6 and 10 years older than the wife account for around 14% of total relationships, and that couples in which the women are up to 10 years older than the that men are only 3%.

Characteristics of relationships where women are older than men

We’ll talk a little bit about the worst-viewed relationship of the two alternatives. It is likely that neither wants to be seen in public and that both refuse to go out or meet in very ordinary places, simply out of shame of what they will say.

If they decide to talk about their relationship with their family, they may have to put up with all kinds of pressure from both sides, as well as a “crucifixion” on the part of colleagues, friends and family, especially those of the woman. This can affect the strength of the couple and the sustainability of the bond.

It is also common for fears, insecurities and jealousy to arise, especially on the part of women. Competition with other younger women can turn her into a chronic or pathological jealousy, for example. This will lead to discussions, scenes in the middle of the street, misunderstandings, etc.

It would be necessary to analyze the reason for a relationship with such a difference in age. Women find that this way they feel younger and are happier, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be that way. Yes, it is good for women to dedicate themselves more to their appearance, to increase their self-esteem, to feel renewed, but this can also occur at the beginning of any affective relationship.

Characteristics of couples where the man is older than the woman

Since there are more cases of couples in which the man is older than the woman, we may think that we cannot analyze because there is greater variability. However, we can also make a kind of x-ray of the situation.

First, why would an older man want to go out or start a relationship with a girl younger than him? Well, for the same reasons mature women date boys who could be their children. We cannot, at this point, specify the reasons.

Yes, it is also true that at certain stages of life, especially after the age of 50, men feel old and one of the ways to rejuvenate is to have a girlfriend much younger than they are, in addition to starting going to gyms, shaving their beards. or dress more youthfully.

In this case, society misinterprets the girl’s intentions, not the man’s, because it tends to think she’s with him for convenience and not true love. Well, this can happen if the man is a multimillionaire, but otherwise it is an unfounded idea.

In both cases, as we can see, the role of the woman is always the most frowned upon, and not that of the man. If we put aside the “prejudices”, maybe we would start to accept any couple, regardless of the age difference, race, religion or social status of its members.