Mind the gap

Look back fondly on your juvenile years and you will remember the unspoken law concerning relationship age differences. Girls going out with older boys was an achievement. If they were fully grown men it was weird, but if they were doing their GCSEs as you sat your A Levels, you were in social suicide territory. The question is, just how much do these attitudes really change as we grow up? How much is too much?

Take Caroline Flack and Harry Styles for example. Whilst not a fan of either, I did feel slightly sorry for Flack who was victim to incessant abuse during and after the split with the curly-haired singer, 15 years her junior. Cougar/toyboy and gold digger/sugar daddy relationships are frequently criticised, but they are surprisingly common even amongst us nobodies.

Obviously there are some drawbacks to the big age gap. You could be reminiscing about your hair in the 80s, whilst your partner awkwardly recounts the stories that their mum used to tell them. The likelihood of you sharing a lot of common interests is possible but perhaps slim, as you will be at different stages in your lives and at times probably unable to relate to one another.

That aside, your happiness in a relationship is the most important thing. ‘Love knows no boundaries’ and all that jazz. Embrace the age gap and the things you learn from one another, though perhaps steer clear of someone your parents’ age. After all, ‘meet the parents’ is awkward enough as it is.