Couples with larger age gaps actually report higher levels of relationship satisfaction in the early years. Here's the kicker: Men in these relationships consistently score lower on stress indicators than their peers in same-age partnerships. Now, before you jump to conclusions about trophy wives or midlife crises, there's actually some fascinating psychology at play here that goes way deeper than surface-level assumptions.
This was the case in the most recent episode, when Sara revealed a tidbit that Erin sounded somewhat taken aback by: Twenty years ago, Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber set Sara up with George Clooney, and it went terribly. "I just remember being like offended that they would set me up with him 'cause he felt so old at the time," Sara said, adding that she was 24 at the time (she is 44 now), which would have made George 44.
"It's definitely a challenging conversation to have at first," she explained. "But then once they got to know him and saw who he is as a man and his character and how much he adores me, I think it became quite easy for them. And now we're all friends." She went on to note: "My husband has such respect for my parents and the way they raised me, and we have a lot of fun together when they come to visit."
Cougars. The term is finally taking on a whole new meaning. Traditionally, it's been used derogatorily to label older women who date younger men as predatory. But now, there's a reclamation happening, and you only need to look at TikTok to see it. There are currently over 113,000 videos under the hashtag #CougarTok , and more than twice that number under #cougar . The videos aren't just thirst traps or jokes; they're sparking conversations about age-gap relationships that feel fresh, confident and celebratory.
At my 26th birthday my childhood best friend Corinne apparently hit it off with my 56-year-old, widowed dad. They enjoyed one another's company, grabbed coffee a few days later, and one thing led to another. Now they've been dating for six months, and their relationship has become serious enough that they've told my brother and me about it. On the one hand, I'm very happy that my lonely father has found someone he might love.
my Dad's (58) new girlfriend (28) is only two years older than me (F26). I want him to be happy but I can't get over how creepy it is that she was in elementary school the same time I was, that she was still in diapers when he was changing mine. It's just weird. He has had other girlfriends since divorcing my mom, but they were all in their 40s and 50s and felt more age appropriate.
I started when I was 17, long before the term "sugar baby" or "rent boy" even existed. I was at university, and I had a scholarship for my education, but I had no housing or food. I was 3,000 miles away from my family in an unfamiliar city. I had no resources to lean on. I found myself really struggling.
We were actually evicted from our home due to noisy sex. We were getting complaints from the neighbours downstairs. At one point, the housing association office came to the door when we were having sex we call it our bang to rights moment. We try to be respectful and, obviously, we don't want to cause people alarm, but we're very noisy creatures. Now we've got the mattresses on the floor, so we've learned our lesson.