Age difference in relationships

ningggsm

Wow, these responses are amazing being that I've never dated anyone younger than myself or more than five years older. So nice to see that a lot of your relationships are working well. Best wishes to you all.

hbrittingham

I've never dated a guy that was younger than me. The closest to my age was 1 year older than me, I was 18 and he was 19. All of my serious relationships were with men at least 6 years older than me. Probably because I have older brothers and I would sometimes date their friends. My husband is 7 years older than me. We started dating when I was 23 and he was 30.

DaivaSimone

I dated a guy who was 45 when I was 20 years old. Eight years later, it's still awckward when he says something about his daughters on Facebook, because the oldest one is now two years older then I was. But we're still in good terms, it was not a really serious thing.

I had a boyfriend who was two years younger then me. He's one of my best friend now, and I sometimes forgot he is younger, and it surprises me when it comes in the conversation.

Current boyfriend is one year younger. But we've been together for seven years now, so I don't think it was an issue between us.

Italianyc84

I'll be 28 next month, my partner is 43. When we started dating I was 22. It actually was a bit rough in the very beginning because I had only been in one real relationship prior, and I think I just expected a fairy tale and everything to be perfect. Truth is, her mother lived with us, in the house that my partner grew up in (she bought the house from her mother when her father passed). Because they had lived there so long, everything was already decorated and finished...I moved in and wanted to do all those things girls want to do like decorate, pick out dishes and stuff, etc. So, it was rough, but I was immature. I was jealous that she had already done all these things with someone else, you know? Things are MUCH much better, almost perfect actually (we now live in a different state! :-) and I realize how much I've grown up since then. The only thing that sucks is we likely won't be able to grow old together. When I retire at 65, she'll be 80. That kind of stinks.

Kerri_is_so_very

I've had 10 years younger up to 20 years older. I ended up marrying a man my age. From experience I can say that I prefer the older ones :bigsmile:

eatcleanNtraindirty

I really didn't expect such a large response. It is really cool to see the diversity of age groups and differences of ages of various partners. Different strokes for different folks :laugh: :flowerforyou:

needernt

Sometimes I see girls marry at the age of 18 or 19.
I mean an 18 years old girl is a kid. How can they marry. and I don't know why a man can marry a kid.!!!!!!!

chemalurgy

You're right about the maturity level being unequal. Both of my husbands were immature.

martincrca

Age is a state of mind ... if both parties are adults and consenting then there is nothing wrong with it. Some of the longest lasting relationships I know of have a large age difference. Personally I have dated 10 years younger (she was 26 at the time) and 8 years older. Depends on the people.

blakejohn

when I was 18 I dated a 40 year old

when I was 40 I dated an 18 year old

SmartAlec03211988

Oldest person I've dated was 15 years older.

Muscles_Curves

When I was 18 I dated a man that was 36. 18 yr age gap. Dated for 5 years.

bigbird1979

I'm 33 and he is 50. Now we have a 12 week old son.

bellydancer124

Biggest age difference for me was 5 years. Personally, I like to date guys who are very close in age to me. Case in point: my boyf is only 2 months older than I am and that's just perfect.

tennisbabe94

I'm currently dating someone that is 8 years older than me. Good times! :P

BelindaDuvessa

Personally, I don't do huge age gaps. The largest was a guy 2 years older than me. We had relationship issues because I was young, clingy, and way too immature. My husband is 6 months younger than me, and honestly, I prefer the closer gap.

I have family members who are with people much older than they are. And friends as well. Those relationships also seem to fight, alot. And sometimes the maturity level is just not there. Sometimes, it's even the older person who is the more immature member of the relationship. At least with someone my own age, I know there will be a slight delay. But he's much closer to my level now than he was 8 years ago when we got together.

But so long as the couple is in a happy, working relationship, age really isn't an issue. It's just not something that I am personally fond of.

MorbidMander

Well, it's not such a huge difference now, but when I first got with my boyfriend I was 18 and he was 24. But now I'm 20 (going to be 21 next month) and he's 26 so it's not such a huge gap anymore. I rarely notice the age gap really since we both look (and act :P) way younger than we actually are, I constantly am asked if I'm 16 - 18 and he is always asked if he's 17 - 19, lol. Yay for for looking youthful!

Florawanda

Experiencing this from the other side, my father was 15 years older than my mum, so when I was born, he was 46, and was much more of a grandfather figure in my life. My Mum later married someone 9 years younger than her, and he had, in fact, been the father figure when I was growing up (it was sort of complex, as for my older brothers who were much closer to his age, there was a lot of rivalry).
I have seen a number of my wider family female relatives in relationships with men of maybe 25 years older than they are - it almost seems to be a pattern - and while they have initially gained a much-needed stability, as years go by they end up by having to cope with someone who needs a lot of care, and suffering a great deal of strain and worry, which can turn the relationship sour. But even if you marry someone your age, illness or accident can strike the other down, so this can happen whatever the age gap - but is much more likely to happen when you are 60 and s/he is 85.
Personally I am so happy with my DH, who is just 2 years older than me - we share so much together in terms of background, both growing up during wartime and rationing. We are growing old together, so keep pace with one another, and thankfully are both physically and mentally fit!

Elzecat

My longest relationship (4 years) started when I was 30 and he was 37.

I had a brief hookup with a 22 year old friend of a friend (I was 38 at the time, it was just for fun and not intended for anything long term). I'm not currently dating but would be fine to date about 10 years older or 10 years younger--as long as the connection is there, the age wouldn't matter.

Impy84

current age dif is 11 yrs.
youngest was 1 yr younger. REGRET that bs.
Usual age diff b4 this long term relationship was 5-10 years
that works best for me