What is Psychology?

Answers to Your Psychology Questions

  • Disorders & Syndromes
  • Mental Health
  • Definitions
  • Love & Relationship
  • Experimental Psychology
  • Child Psychology

Is it a Problem if my Boyfriend is Younger than Me?

Age gaps between men and women are pretty common in relationships the world over, but although older men routinely date younger women and nobody bats an eye (Hugh Hefner being a prime example), when an older woman has a relationship with a man significantly younger than herself, it is often considered slightly “taboo” and causes a few raised eye brows as a result (unless your name is Madonna). But if your question is: is it a problem if my boyfriend is younger than me, the answer may depend on how large the age gap is!

An age gap of less than five years is unlikely to cause problems since both parties are of the same generation and likely to be at similar life stages. But if the age gap is much bigger, the woman can often end up feeling insecure and concerned that her toy boy will eventually leave her for a younger model.

Is age difference a problem?

The success of the relationship may depend on your ages. If you are in your thirties and he is in his twenties, it might be a good match—you are mature enough to know what you want from life and he is young enough to keep up with you. But if he is in his late teens and you are twenty years older, he is probably much too immature for the relationship to last very long. And besides, what on earth are you going to talk about outside of the bedroom?

For a younger man, dating a “cougar” is the epitome of cool: an older woman is sophisticated, sexy, and probably financially secure. But although the relationship between an older woman and a younger guy might work well for a while, in the long term there is a very good chance the wheels will fall off in spectacular fashion (remember Ashton Kutcher and the hot tub scandal and look where his relationship with Demi Moore ended up as a result).

So what if him and me want children?

When a forty something woman dates a twenty something man, the most obvious issue that might arise is if he wants children and she is too old. So if your boyfriend is younger than you and you think it might become serious, consider where you both stand on the subject and deal with it now rather than later.

If two people love each other deeply, age should not be an issue. However, for any relationship to last the distance, both participants have to be on the same wave length and if your idea of fun is a night in front of the TV with a crossword puzzle and a mug of cocoa, but your boyfriend is more interested in going snow boarding or clubbing, not even great sex will keep the spark alive in the long term.

And finally, despite the fact the odds are against you, relationships between younger men and older women do sometimes work very well, so if you are both madly in love, enjoy the romance and ignore your critics—they are probably only jealous!

Related Articles:

  1. Having a Relationship with Emotionally Unavailable Women Having a relationship with emotionally unavailable women is never going to make you happy. Emotionally unavailable women don't just play hard to get — they really are hard to get! So before you end up attached to a woman like this, learn how to spot the signs of an emotionally...
  2. What Percentage of Men Cheat? It is often hard for an outsider to understand why a man who apparently has everything is compelled to risk it all for a romp in a hotel room with an anonymous one-night stand. And yet it happens all the time—famous men, with beautiful wives and a reputation to upkeep...
  3. How to Save a Failing Marriage? We like to think that marriage is forever, but all relationships have their ups and downs and sometimes two people discover too late that they were never meant to be together. But rather that chuck the towel in and walk away, it is important to at least try and mend...
  4. What are the Most Common Lies People Tell in a Relationship? Honesty might be a virtue, but most of us are guilty of telling lies from time to time. There are kinds of lie: from the little white lie we tell our best friend to spare her feelings when she has had a dodgy new haircut, to the massive whopper we...
  5. How to Recognise Passive Aggressive Men in Relationships? Dealing with a passive aggressive man in a relationship is fraught with problems. Their behavior is usually characterized by a fear of intimacy, emotional unavailability, and a tendency to blow hot and cold more times than the weather. So if this sounds like many of your relationships, you need to...

Filed Under: Love & Relationship

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Topics

  • Disorders & Syndromes
  • Drugs & Addiction
  • Mental Health
    • Fear & Anxiety
  • Neuroscience
    • Attention & Concentration
    • Memory
    • Neuroscience
  • Psychology
    • Animals
    • Behavior
    • Child Psychology
    • Definitions
    • Education
    • Experimental Psychology
    • Famous Psychologists
    • Gender Difference
    • Language & Communication
    • Love & Relationship
    • Nutrition
    • Popular Psychology
  • Therapy

Recent Posts

What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Why Do People Cut Themselves?

Can You Learn While You Sleep?

Is Herpes Linked to Dementia?

Stay updated on Facebook Follow WhatisPsychology on Twitter

Affiliate Links – Advertising Disclosure

If you purchase a product or service linked from this site, we may receive an "affiliate commission". We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising" and also in accordance to amazon associates programme operating agreement.

Amazon
The owner of this website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Copyright © · What is Psychology? · Privacy Policy · About · Archives · Contact us