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They know how to navigate stress or conflicts and communicate in supportive ways with a life partner. It feels horrible to admit, butstudies have shown that women are happier with older male partners than the other way around. The theory behind this is that, from an evolutionary perspective, women are more prized for their looks, which are thought to decrease with age, whereas men are valued more for their resources, which typically increase as they get older. In many ways, an age difference can make the mystery of love all the more elusive in the best of ways. Fast forward to today, a few months out from my second marriage, and my views have certainly changed. My wonderful partner is a man almost 12 years younger than me and the age-gap doesn’t mean a thing.

Dating for Older Adults

We’ve made our position known and shared the thoughts and experiences of the women to whom we talked. One important question we asked was what they felt an older woman has to offer. Here are some answers which are clear, articulate and to the point. Their sentiments represent a very large proportion of the opinions we heard expressed. A strong connection is real, no matter the age difference. Yes, the dynamic brings a unique set of challenges—but it can also be pretty great, whether the goal a fling or a long-term relationship.

Fulfilling Sexual Encounters

Twice divorced, Nussbaum says he had developed a habit of trying to tell women who were his age or younger how to live their lives. The decision to match with a younger man can be a plus for an older woman’s sex life. While younger men are still in the phase of understanding a woman’s body, mature women can give expert guidance tailored to their exact intimate needs. And, in general, the divorced guy who wants to get family life right is more likely to settle down more quickly than the 32-year-old. That young man may want the same thing in the long run, but at this moment – even unbeknownst to himself – he may not be ready to stop sowing his oats and building his career or ready to start staying in and diapering babies. Just because a guy is interested in you doesn’t mean he’s ready for marriage/kids in an accelerated time span.

About This Article

“My ex was 12 years older than I was when I was 25,” one Reddit user wrote. Hugh Jackman and his wife,Deborra-Lee Furness, have been happily married for almost 23 years now, and Jackman rarely misses an opportunity to gush about her in interviews. In spite of that, people act like it’s odd that his wife is 13 years older than him, even going so far as to say it means their marriage is a sham. This is obviously incredibly offensive to Furness , who toldAustralian Woman’s Weeklythat she considers it a “putdown” that people talk about how “lucky” she is to have married a handsome younger man. Which means that while knowing your friends and family are judging you undoubtedly takes a toll on things, once you consider what life could be like with someone else, your marriage gets even stronger.

“Younger partners can start the conversations by saying, ‘I’m not sure if you realize it, but you just totally made that decision for me, and I would prefer to be included in the decision process next time,’” says Porche. Relationship satisfaction decreased slightly for couples with age gaps of 4 to 6 years and continued to decrease for couples joyclub with an age gap of 7 or more years. “The bigger the gap between partners, the more likely the relationship will struggle with phase-of-life related challenges,” says GinaMarie Guarino, a licensed mental health counselor and founder of PsychPoint. ” If you’re wondering whether an age difference could impact your relationship, this is for you.

“The age difference was always an inhibitor for her,” he says. Older women may have more to teach when it comes to sexual pleasure. This can provide oppurtunities for learning about preferences and sexual connections. Older women are most likely done with or are wrapping up that chapter of their lives. This leaves room to focus their attention on their younger romantic companion. When it comes to partners, society has created a particularly unwelcoming environment for younger men who find older women appealing.

Unmasking a Cougar and a Cub

When it comes to a marriage that has a large age gap, your mental age can often therefore be more important than what decade you were born in. “I have seen couples with significant age differences bridge that gap,” relationship expertRachel A. ” think it works well when the younger partner is very mature for his/her age, and the older partner is playful and perhaps a bit immature.” Falling in love with a woman 10, 15, 20 years older, or more can be exhilarating. These so-called age-gap relationships with the woman as the senior partner are more accepted now than in previous times, some observers say.

They typically use their cigarettes as a way to start a conversation with a younger man. Unfortunately, from our observations, cougars generally seem to be smokers. This is when you will notice slightly more makeup, but by this time, you two are already hitting it off with conversation. Cubs typically prefer Cougars for one-night stands and quick hookups because Cougars are very talented and experienced in bed. They don’t feel privileged, and they don’t act like daddy’s Little Princess. These mature ladies usually keep themselves together and are usually very fit and gorgeous women.

One Reddit user wrote that her husband is nine years older than her, and everything is great—except for his decreasing libido. “I’m now at the age that he was when we first met (I’m 31) and I feel like I’m in my prime but we just don’t get to do it like we did when he was 31,” she wrote. They know you need your space, your friends, and the freedom to be a guy. They have their own group of girlfriends and their own lives, so they don’t expect you to be their entire world.

It might sound like the stuff cliches are made of, but age really is just a number. For most men, this is an agreeable sentiment—the older man-younger woman dynamic has been accepted as normal for generations. As you can see, dating an older woman is a decision that does require some thinking. We can’t do that for you as every single situation is completely different. If you are looking for specific advice about your situation, you can always navigate over to our free forums where other members and our relationship experts are to give you some help.

The researchers approached random people in public and asked them to imagine themselves in a romantic relationship with an attractive person of the opposite sex . The researchers then presented different types of relationships- sexual fantasies, casual affairs, long-term relationships, marriage — and asked the participants what the minimum and maximum age of their partner is for each scenario. While an older man dating a younger woman tends to raise less eyebrows than a woman’s romance with a younger man, the dynamic isn’t exactly stigma-free—particularly when the age gap is significant. For other couples, however, age is much more than a number.