Do age gaps matter in dating after age 25 for women or men?
So I recently attended a wedding that got me thinking about age gaps in relationships. I met a 32 and 25-year-old couple, and it got me thinking how in a world where dating patterns are constantly evolving, you don't see many couples with significant age differences anymore.
I’m starting to think that in IB or PE, many of us are just starting to find ourselves and the early years are all about work, leaving little room for serious dating. Most of us in this field probably don't start thinking about long-term relationships until our late 20s.
But about age gaps – do they really matter after age 25 for either women or men? I'm inclined to think they don't, or at least they shouldn't as much. By 25, we're fully-fledged adults, we've tasted the bittersweet reality of life outside the school bubble. We’re all more mature, both emotionally and intellectually. So, shouldn't we be capable of making our own decisions about dating regardless of age?
Like I think at the end of the day, it's less about the number of years between people and more about the connection you share. If two people are on the same page, understand each other, and share similar values, maybe an age gap isn't such a big deal? I see it as more about the maturity and life stage you're in, what do you think?
Def doesn’t matter in NYC
One should be well able to make their own choices as an adult at that age
As an adult (and people over 25 absolutely count as that, regardless of how childish they behave) can and should make their own decisions. But very large age gaps (say, more than 20 years or so) are still quite a rarity for many reasons.
Every wedding I have attended so far was with couples where the age gap was about 2-10 years (rough guess). This, of course, is not statistically relevant. I could be wrong.
The goal is to be a 40 Y old MD chilling on his Yacht with a bunch of 20+ Y old chicks!
So no, it doesn't matter.
no MD will be having either a yacht or the time to chill on it brother
Doesn’t care to provide value … clients be forewarned 😂
For serious dating, the older you get the bigger the age gaps can be realistically. I think an age gap of up to 10yrs is totally fine from age 40 but you probably want to keep that at close to 5-6yrs if you are aged 30
It's not a judgement thing really, just gonna be in different stages of life with a different mentality / maturity level
You didn’t specify how old the guy/girl is. A 30yr old guy wanting children and dating a 40yr old girl is a lot different compared to the other way around.
What’s the issue if the ages were the other way around? Wouldn’t that be fairly normal if so?
Usually if the guy is older, it’s fine. Girls mid to late 30s start to face fertility issues.
Men also experience decreased fertility starting around age 35-40 as well, it just isn't a hard and fast cut-off like it is for women.
I think men dating older women is a little odd. next thing you know that guy will be buying 200 dollar gifts for her friends that he never met
LOL
I starting dating a 24 year old when I was 32. Been together for many years now and it’s less of a question than it was.
And you’re a girl? When did you start dating him?
No, you knucklehead
It depends on the type of relationship and the guy/girl in it. Like all other relationships, it’ll come down to their commitment level and their investment. If you’re talking about dating, that’s not a permanent relationship. Marriages with age-gaps can work but both the guy/girl need to know what’s in their future. Let’s cut-to-the-chase, if they’re traditional, this type of relationship works well. It’s better than average because of the sex. If they’re not, chances are there could be some issues but the guy would face those issues regardless of the girl’s age. If anything, a younger woman is always > an older one. It’s science. Don’t kid yourself. For the girl, normal girls (which are now rare) tend to pick on how the guy makes them feel - so looks and age aren’t that important. If they were, none of these relationships would’ve happened in the first place. Also, women are generally less corrupt than men and aren’t hypergamous. Different things are important to different people. A girl’s sexual history is the most important characteristic for men. Other qualities are important but you can get those things outside the relationship as well. If she doesn’t tell you everything she’s done with whom, I’d run because she’s not a long-term fit. If all he wants is just good sex and isn’t a good guy to her, I’d also recommend that she run because he’s not a good long-term fit for her.
Dream is to be A-lister actor like Leo and date 23-25 y/o women
I don’t understand how this is even a question. It is completely normal to have an age gap. When I was like 25 all of my girl friends said they would date a guy up to 10 years older.
Yea your GFs answer of up to 10 years is what OPs asking. How much older would women date? And how would other ppl see them if a younger girl dated an older guy? That’s what his post is asking. My answer explained that it depends.
The poll is, “is an age gap acceptable” not “how big of an age gap is acceptable”
It doesn’t matter to a large extent at that point. You’re a grown adult, and it’s only weird if you’re dating a really unattractive person seemingly mainly for money, as some people may think you’re materialistic. But it’s probably not even that out of the ordinary in areas like NY, CA, FL where it’s super expensive.
Otherwise who cares. A person’s mindset and personality is likely not going to drastically be different at age 29 compared to when they’re 36.
Age gaps generally don’t matter by the time you’re in your mid 20s as long as you’re not dating someone who looks old enough to be your father or grandfather at whatever age you are at. I have met plenty of women in their mid to late 20s who date men in their 30s, it’s fairly common in NYC especially.
good fucking lord how about you spent time caring about something else. Falling into age-gap relationship discourse is just another 'outrage of the month' that people who live unequivocally boring lives use to give themselves some ounce of entertainment.
Perceptions around age gaps haven't changed. But if you need a hard and fast rule take your age, divide by 2, and add 7. Works extremely well and youll see that a 32 year old is well within boundaries to be with a 25 year old.
Age gaps don’t matter, and you have the calculation backwards. The equation for women is age minus 7, times 2 for a maximum range. If OP is 25, she can date up to 36. For men it’s half your age, add 7.
“Age gaps don’t matter” … proceeds to write age gap equation
In nyc, I’m 26 and my 23 year old gf and I just split after a year. I think had we met at 30 and 26 respectively it would be different. Maybe 24 or 25 age is the best for investing in serious relationships. All I can say is after this experience I’d recommend avoiding a fresh grad cause they might feel some fomo. Very good head though.
I also noticed other than meeting in college you rarely see a couple where the girl is the same age as the guy or older…at least in the 22-28ish age circle. No one really cares here but the judgment will be more of the girls burden than the guy tbh…as long as it’s not a 10+ year age gap.
The only important thing is being in the same page in your life outside the couple. If that is fulfill, numbers are numbers.
On average, there are always exceptions, a woman's sex drive tends to taper off from 30 to 40, whereas for men it seems to taper off from 40 to 50. I'd say a 10 year age gap makes sense (say a 35 year old guy marrying a 25 year old woman). I think anything greater than 10 years would raise eyebrows in a modern western society. Completely different views on this topic in Latin America, Asia, and Africa....
It just depends really on the person and their personality. When I was 26, I dated a 40-year-old guy and honestly I didn't really have anything in common with him. Convos were dry, there wasn't really much to talk about, and we were just different places in each other's lives. It was too big of an age gap and I couldn't relate to the time period he grew up in + his mindset about a lot of things solely because I was younger and in a different generation. My parents are 15 years apart and they really don't have anything in common either and it's gotten worse as they've gotten older but they've made it work.
Perhaps I am too young or culturally difference to understand this. But I think even if I were 30 and single, I would only date a women within 5-7 years of my age, any more seems to be a different generation of culture and maturity or mentality toward life. Maybe the 40 year olds who are single have different view point.
I could not agree more. Others can do whatever works for them of course, but I can't imagine dating anyone at 30 who is under 25yrs old for maturity reasons. At 35 this creeps up to last 20s as the minimum
Though it's very true that while an older guy dating around isn't necessarily a red flag, it usually is for older women (i.e. a woman who's 33 and single has had many guys trial her out and pass)
I do not think people naturally think about age gaps. It just kind works out that guys date younger women and women date older guys. Smallish age gaps are normal but larger ones are more unusual. Guys with a lot of money can pull off any age gap. It does look kind of weird when an unappealing older guy is dating a younger female. Then, you are kind of wondering if they are dating or is the guy the father of the girl.
It very much depends. I'm dating somebody a dozen years younger than me, and it's right on the edge of what the standard creepiness rule defines as acceptable. (divide your age by 2 and add 7) We're making it work, but it's noticeable that I don't really get TikTok. Artist vs. finance* is also a noticeable difference between us, but it's what makes it fun. The one thing that I think is really important is that we're both really frugal. Money issues are the #1 cause of break-ups, even above cheating. (and we have rules for that: it's ok to sleep with somebody else as long as the other is also involved) I think it's also helpful that I look really young for my age. I've dropped a decade from my age in dating apps before, and it's seemed to be believable.
*And I'm the really technical guy in my department. I'll talk about herfindahl-hirschman indexes at least once a week, and index + RIC rules about half that often.
You know how to sweet talk the females, haha
Females? Did you not see my hard work to not gender anything? The hole I'm railing has a dick attached.
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