For decades, Hollywood has romanticized the children’s toy.
Most recently, she appeared in the on-screen adventure of Zac Efron (36) and Nicole Kidman (57) in the Netflix romantic comedy A Family Affair and in the film The Idea of You by Anne Hathaway (41) and Nicholas Galitzine (29).
A survey has revealed that this age gap has leapt from the big screen into our daily lives, as millennial women have found that younger Gen Z men are more emotionally available and offer more admiration and less competition than their older peers.
More than half of Americans aged 18 to 34 say they see more benefits in dating or marrying someone who is 10 years older or younger. Pictured: Cher (78) and her 40-years-younger boyfriend Alexander ‘AE’ Edwards (38) on the left and Madonna (65) and Josh Popper (30) who are 36 years apart in age (right)
More than half of Americans ages 18 to 34 reported that they see more benefits in dating or marrying someone 10 years older or younger than them.
Physical attractiveness, emotional maturity and financial freedom were cited as the top reasons.
The Ipsos survey She found that 74 percent of women who dated younger men were more sexually satisfied and experienced more fun and enjoyment in the relationship than when they dated someone their own age.
Researchers surveyed 207 women who dated younger men and found that they were more available and didn’t feel the need to compete with their partner because they were at different stages in life.
About eight in ten participants who had an age gap of more than ten years in their relationships said they were able to more easily express their needs and desires, trust their partner’s intentions, and be themselves.
“He doesn’t feel threatened by any aspect of my life because we’re automatically in different places/stages due to the age difference,” one woman explained to Study discovers.
Another woman said: “Women my age seem excited by the freshness and lack of bitterness that comes with dating someone younger. Younger men seem more open and less burdened by insecurities.”
Older women have started dating younger men and have found them to be more fun and enjoyable companions. Pictured: Priyanka Chopra (42) and Nick Jonas (31) have a 10-year age gap (left) and Heidi Klum (51) and Tom Kaulitz (34) have a 16-year age gap (right)
Big name celebrities have long been advocates of seeking a younger partner, and some have taken it to extreme levels, such as Madonna (65) and Josh Popper (30), who have a 36-year age gap, and Cher (78) and her 40-years-younger boyfriend Alexander “AE” Edwards (38).
Cher acknowledged their age difference in a mail on X in 2022, writing: ‘On paper, this seems strange (even to me). AE says (love) doesn’t know math.’
In another tweet to a fan, Cher described Edwards as “kind,” “smart” and “funny.” She also said they kiss “like teenagers.”
Other celebrities like Priyanka Chopra (42) and Nick Jonas (31) are 10 years apart and Heidi Klum (51) and Tom Kaulitz (34) are 16 years apart, proving that age is just a number.
Kris Jenner (68) and her partner Corey Gamble (43) have a 25-year age difference
However, the question remains: what do men get out of dating an older woman, also known as a cougar?
StudyFinds reported that of the 201 men surveyed, many said they were attracted to the emotional maturity that comes with dating an older woman, and one person said he appreciated having an older partner around because she is more mature than others his age.
But more than that, younger men find that dating an older woman makes them more likely to grow up faster, both emotionally and socially.
“I often find that women are much more evolved when it comes to relationships, emotional depth and really expressing feelings,” said one Gen Z man.
‘The age difference also means that I take the relationship more seriously and grow (more).’
The takeaway from the study: Gen Z men see dating Millennial women as an opportunity to “level up.”