Member-only story
I Dated Younger Men
It was fun but not really a big deal
After my husband left me, I deep-dived into mourning for a bit. When I submerged, I forced myself to get back out into the dating world.
I hadn’t dated for a while — 20 years to be exact. I’d been married for 18 years, and before that, I’d dated my ex semi-exclusively.
One of the things that surprised me was the number of younger men who were open to dating me. Not just men who were 3 or 4 years younger, either. There were men who were over 10 years younger who expressed an interest in me.
In this day where we have an Emmanuel Macron married to a woman 24 years his senior and a Lisa Bonet married to Jason Momoa, it’s not that remarkable.
There are many reasons men might find an older woman attractive. Some of it has nothing to do with age — common interests and compatible personality transcend age.
The youngest person who asked me out? He was 30 years younger. He was adorable, but…
I’ve realized, after being back in the dating scene for a couple of years, that I prefer men closer to my own age. Anywhere from 3–4 years younger to 3–4 years older. We have the most in common and the most compatible energy levels.
At the same time, it’s been wonderful to discover that age really isn’t a barrier any more, if it ever was.
