In my friend group, a handful of our kids turned 19 this year, and a hot topic of conversation has been the relationship between 19-year-old Cruz Beckham and 29-year-old Jackie Apostel.
We’ve all wondered how we would feel in Victoria’s place and whether we would react as the Beckhams have, without any outward sign that they consider the relationship inappropriate.
Instead, they’ve chosen to keep their son and his Brazilian girlfriend close, hoping it’s just a ‘Mrs. Robinson’ phase.
David is reportedly relaxed about the situation and believes that every boy’s dream is to be with an older, experienced woman.
In our group, however, the general opinion is that it is an inappropriate age gap relationship and if any of our boys hooked up with Jackie we would not be happy.
Girls mature faster than boys. A 19-year-old is still at the stage of finding himself, and I’m not sure the influence of a woman ten years older than him is appropriate.
What if the tables were turned? Would David be equally excited if his only daughter, Harper, once she turned 19, dated a man ten years older than her?
Jackie Apostel, 29, and Cruz Beckham, 19, leaving their hotel during Paris Fashion Week, where they attended their mother, Victoria Beckham’s show.
Raj Gill, 51, with his son Jeevan, 19, who is the same age as Cruz Beckham. Raj says he wouldn’t be happy if he dated a woman 10 years older when he’s not even an adult.
I highly doubt it. In general we tend to be much more protective of our daughters than our sons.
Cruz is too young to know what he’s thinking, and if he thinks Jackie is the love of his life, I doubt he’s thinking clearly. This is probably the first in a long series of matters of the heart for him.
A telling sign that all is not as it seems in the Beckham world is that neither David nor Victoria have acknowledged Jackie’s existence on the various social media platforms they both update regularly. This is a sure sign that they hope this relationship doesn’t last the entire course.
Nineteen is too young and can be a very confusing time. A child has just left school and could be entering the workforce or pursuing higher education.
It’s time to be with colleagues, with others who are going through the same thing. It can be a confusing time, suddenly you have to be an adult. It is a moment when you are entering the real world.
I have a 19-year-old son and a 21-year-old daughter. My son, Jeevan, left school at 18 and started university.
That in itself was a huge upheaval.
Gone are the comfortable school days; We or a family member would transport him to and from school.
Raj has questioned what Cruz and Jackie, photographed at Paris Fashion Week, have in common, given their age difference.
Jackie also bears a striking resemblance to Victoria, Cruz’s mother, and shares the same glamorous fashion sense.
Jackie and Cruz at Paris Fashion Week with her younger sister Harper and father David. Raj wonders if David would be happy with Harper dating someone 10 years older when she turned 19.
They took him to all their after-school clubs; We closely follow their school work. And then everything changed.
He had to decide what would come next, continue his studies or enter the workforce, even that is a difficult decision.
How is he supposed to know at 18 what he wants to do for the rest of his life?
He chose to continue his studies, the next decision was in which subject. This required months of research and soul searching. What could he see himself doing for the rest of his life?
He eventually decided on civil engineering, but even that required a lot of research and advice from others who had graduated from the course.
Raj wants his son to focus on himself and finding himself, growing up as a young man.
Jeevan is lucky that his circle of friends are all his age, they are all having similar experiences and they can rely on each other if they are struggling, because they have a better understanding of the situations that 19-year-olds can get into.
Jeevan used the summer to show us that he can be responsible, and as a result, his path to adulthood wasn’t too bumpy.
He set several goals: get a summer job, join the gym, get a driver’s license, etc., and he achieved each of them. He wanted to show that he was ready to take control of his life and was ready to embark on adulthood.
So if he met someone ten years older than him right now, I highly doubt we would accept it.
The summer has been used to lay the foundations of being an adult, there is much more work to do. His focus has to be on himself and finding himself, growing as a young man.
My husband and I are the same age, share the same interests, and grew up in similar environments.
We get each other’s cultural references; We have a lot in common, because it is an age-appropriate relationship.
I wonder how integrated Cruz is into Jackie’s world. It must be strange for you to be with your friends if they are all in their twenties, what do you find to talk about with them?
I also wonder if Jacqui would even consider dating him, if he wasn’t a Beckham. Surely that star appeal was a strong attraction.
Let’s face it, she was FROW at Paris Fashion Week, she recently spent time with the Beckhams in Miami, none of which would happen if she were dating a normal guy.
It’s also strange that she’s Victoria’s doppelgänger and the fact that she leans into that and plays massively with him is a little unsettling.