Age is nothing but a number...or is it?

The topic of age tends to rear its head in a lot of relationships and causes unresolved debates so it is only fair to give it the audience it truly deserves. So does age really matter? There are a number of people who prefer to date well below or above their years and for them its no big deal – age is nothing but a number...but is it really?

There are websites like sugardaddie.com and dateAcougar.com that further emphasize the fact that a lot of people are searching for younger or older partners. Sugardaddie.com are for rich older men looking for much younger women who 99.9% (ok maybe 99%) of the time are gold diggers but the men don’t seem to mind because they want to flaunt their money. DateAcougar.com are for older women (no emphasis made on the level of their net worth unlike sugardaddie.com) searching for younger men who mainly want to be with women who can support them. 

There are some prime examples in the celebrity world of sugar daddies and cougars – you have Demi Moore & Ashton Kutcher (16 years gap), Madonna & Jesus (shown in the pic) who have a 28 years gap and of course the equally if not more controversial Rolling Stones front man Ronnie Woods and his Russian lover Ekaterina Ivanova with a heft 41 years age difference. Is it really love that drew them together or simply infatuation? I suppose we would never really know because the secrets of their attraction are exactly that ‘a secret’. They only tell the press what they need to hear to avoid embarrassment and protect their lovers. They all claim it is love but who knows…right? Maybe they just want someone to make them feel young again or they're going through some mid life crisis or maybe just maybe it really is love?

It's hard to believe that where there is an age gap which invites the comment ‘she is old enough to be his mother’ or vice versa, there is no element of control involved – mainly for the older person in the relationship that is. Have you ever tried dating someone with up to 10 years age difference? I have and I can tell you that he believed he was in complete control of the relationship. Don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t dictating what I ate, wore and when I went to bed but he might as well have been because he didn’t really agree with most of the things I said. He always believed he was right because he was older hence ‘wiser’. It’s the whole attitude of ‘being there, done that and worn the t-short’ that was prevalent our relationship. That amongst other things was the reason why it didn’t work out. Correct me if I’m wrong but a relationship is supposed to be about respecting each other’s views and when you can’t agree you agree to disagree? That wasn’t the case in this relationship, he was always right and that was that. It’s hard to fathom that relationships with an age gap older than a teenager will not have power struggles.  Who knows, maybe the people in them are really in love…hmmm...guess we’ll wait to see how long it lasts. Not that I’m wishing it rains on their parade of course. To each their own bla bla bla.

Slightly digressing (as I do) but still on a similar topic…last weekend I was in the salon waiting my turn to be seen to, minding my merry business and a young boy (well let’s just say that I could be put in prison for looking at him twice…yeah that young) was trying to chat me up. Ok, so I was flattered (not going to lie) that someone his age would pay a grown gal like me some attention but really, where did he get the audacity and confidence to even step up to me? I do wonder for the younger ones, I really do. I obviously let him down gently by telling him that i was old enough to be his ‘older’ sis with a lot of emphasis on the 'older' (not his mum…for those of you guessing). My younger brother is older than him for crying out loud.

Anyway, back to the point…so, is age just a number? Truth is, the answer is purely subjective and everyone is bound to have their opinion. You didn’t really think we would get to a ‘finite’ answer in this blog did you? Everyone has something to say about this topic so I believe (allow me to give my opinion please…remember you’re in my lounge lol) that age is definitely more than just a number. It’s a number with added experience, added maturity, added financial security or not (in some cases), added misfortune or fortune…the list could go on depending on how you look at it. All these ‘added’ extras undoubtedly affect the way each person view their relationships meaning that the greater the gap the higher the tendency that they are not coming from the same wave frequency. Having said that, what really matters is whether or not they are happy in their relationships. If they are then stuff my opinion (for choice of a better expression)…to each their own.

So what’s your opinion on the age (old) question? Does age really matter? Have you been in a relationship with someone much older than you? Would love to hear you views as always. Have a great day people…until the next post…