Older women dating younger men is a hot topic right now thanks to the new first lady of France, Brigitte Emmanuel, who is 24 years older than her husband. Hugh Jackman is 13 years younger than his wife, Deborra-Lee. Carole Radziwill, 53, who stars on “Real Housewives of New York City,” is dating Adam Kenworthy, 31, a chef. Laura Brown, the editor in chief of InStyle magazine, dates Brandon Borror-Chappell, a writer and comedian who is 16 years younger. The list goes on. And on.
As you know, I am also a huge fan of dating younger men. They are less likely to be divorced, have children or quite frankly, have issues in bed. Generally, it’s a low-drama relationship. At this point, I am not even really attracted to men my age or older. So there’s that!
And the more I talk about this, the more women I discover who also enjoy relationships with younger men. Even women who are in their 80’s now, have lovely stories of passionate affairs and enduring relationships with younger men. I am considering interviewing them as the subject for my next book… this phenomenon is not new. Just relatively new to me!
My favorite champion of May-December romance, Cindy Gallop, had this to say in the NY Times. “It makes people very uncomfortable to see the gender equation reversed,” she said. “Out there in the world are many, many younger men who would love to date older women, but would never do anything about it because there’s this appalling societal double standard.” Donald Trump is 24 years older than Melania, but no one is judging them!
Online/app dating has made this societally-taboo connection a lot easier. There is no risk to swipe right on a much younger man and no risk for them to choose older women. I discovered that younger men were interested in me by using dating apps. It kind of still surprises me just how many are matches.
Seems younger men are willing to meet older women in real life too. A speed dating event planner in New York, Amber Soletti, dedicates entire events to this demographic and apparently the events are very popular. She was quoted recently in the New York Post, “Millennial men are career-focused and want to travel with successful women and conquer the world together,” says Soletti, who notes she’s seen an uptick in established women signing up specifically to meet younger bucks at her speed-dating events. She met a man 10 years her junior at one of her own events and now they are engaged to be married.
From the same New York Post article, “Older successful men are used to being in control of a woman, and that doesn’t sit well with modern women,” says Susan Winter, co-author of the book “Older Women, Younger Men: New Options for Love and Romance.” “Younger men have grown up with working women and have worked for female bosses, so they’re more likely to treat women equally.” I find younger/Millennial men do treat me equally. It’s rather refreshing. And I think “modern” is a fantastic description of this type of relationship.
If this intrigues you at all as an older woman, I recommend opening your mind and giving younger men a chance. And if you need any advice, I am here!
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What do you think?