I was reading the wide variety of opinions expressed in the thread about a 35yr-old guy dating a 19yr-old gal.
What about a 52yr-old guy dating a 30yr-old gal? FWIW, neither of them are rich or famous.
I think that is a different situation, because a 30 year old has had more time to establish their personality and priorities. Teenagers are still in the process of figuring out who they are and what’s important to them. 30 year olds generally have figured that out.
Half plus 7 rule.
52/2 is 26 +7 is 33.
If the 52 year old and the 30 year old are fine with it, I sure don’t care.
If it’s casual dating I wouldn’t give it another thought; however, if there’s a chance it may become serious both parties need to have a discussion about things like children (want them? Don’t?), if he has children from a previous relationship they could be close to girlfriends age - that could present problems, he may want to retire in the next 5 years or zo and travel or whatever and if she’s stuck working for another 20 years she may resent him, etc. That being said, every relationship has issues to deal with - just with a large age gap they may be different than with twp twenty year olds.
Good points, all.
Interesting. Never heard that one before. That would mean I’d have to wait 6 years to date her. I reckon I could do that.
Well there is actor Doug Anthony Hutchison, 51, who married a 16 year old girl in Las Vegas,
See what passes for 16 these days? I never had any 16 year old girls like that in my high school
If they’re dating casually, I don’t see that it’s a big deal. When it gets serious, the older person needs to respect their partner enough to let them make some of the minor mistakes we all make that lead to personal growth (“life lessons”).
I’m in a December/May marriage and I had to swear to myself to never pull the “When you get to my age, you’ll see how blah blah blah…” routine on my husband. (And, good for me, I’ve done it only twice!)
When my partner and I met, I was 42 and he was 22. After 24 years, the age difference remains much more of a “plus” than a “minus.”
I was 19 when I started dating my recent ex-boyfriend, who was 36 at the time. We lasted 7 years and broke up amicably - I have nothing but good feelings and wishes for him, and hope we will always be in touch. The age difference was never really an issue. So, I tend to judge these things on a case by case basis. Based on my experience with him I wouldn’t hesitate to date someone much older, or much younger, in the future. As long as we were compatible on several levels.
There’s a difference between a 16-year age difference and a 22-year one, IMO. But 30 and 52 doesn’t seem like a big deal to me at all. Hell, a 30-year-old woman should know enough to date whoever she wants without an eyebrow being raised.
When I was 40 I dated a 25-year-old. It did not end well, largely due to my assumption of an emotional maturity that simply wasn’t there. She didn’t have the life skills to communicate her issues in the relationship. She acted like she was tolerant of certain aspects of my life - things that someone who had been around the block a few times would understand - and I took what she said at face value and didn’t read between the lines that she was actually distressed about them, which in turn caused her to behave - immaturely IMO - in ways that damaged me almost irreparably.
Then I dated a 29-year-old and found her also to be emotionally immature, resulting in extreme clinginess. It did not end well (for her).
Older but not wiser, when I was 42 I dallied with another 25-year-old. It did not end well either, this time purely and absolutely because of her emotional immaturity.
Now I’m 44 I’m dating a 33-year-old and things are going extremely well. So with a huge unscientific assumption based on anecdotal data, maybe around 30 is the cut-off point for compatibility with us middle-aged dudes?
Meh. If two grownass adults wanna date, BFD.
(To be fair – I would find a 35 year old with a 19 year old to be creepier than I do a 52 year old with a 30 year old.)
Sorry for the offtopic, but i must ask… why is it called may/december?
As long as the younger partners are of normal mental ability who cares? In that I mean while they might not think the same way you do, or make the same choices you would, no one is being taken advantage of or exploited.
I really hate this idea that the younger is being exploited, its paternalistic garbage.
It’s an analogy - the human life is portrayed as a year. Someone who’s just reached the prime of their life is in its spring, and someone nearing the end of their life is in its winter. There’s a song by Anderson/Weil called September Song that uses this image. Not sure whether the phrase came before the song though.
However, that doesn’t fully explain the allusion to a relationship with a significant age mismatch - but there was a British sitcom in the early nineties with the name “May to December” about a relationship between an older man and a younger woman, which may have had something to do with its use.
I should mention another anecdote.
My great-aunt was a spinster until 40, when she married a 60-year-old widower. By the time she was 65 he was still alive and had become a demented tyrant, with her as his elderly full-time carer - and the fucker just would not die. (Before he went demented he gave all our heirlooms, which were in my aunt’s custody, to his children from his prior marriage. Which was nice.) He marred her autumn years and finally popped his clogs when he was 95, much to everyone’s relief, including, I suspect, hers.
So there’s that sort of situation to consider… 
Well, I’d like to think I’d never become a tyrant, demented or not. If that were to happen, though, my SO would have my permission in advance to arrange a fatal “accident” for me-- as long as she was sure she wouldn’t get caught.
Wow, in those pictures they look like they’re both in the same age bracket!
Cool, I can still date 29 year olds.
I agree with what others say. 30 is old enough that you are mature and know what you want out of a relationship. If the age difference doesn’t matter to them then it wouldn’t matter to me. a 19 year old could be mature enough but I think the chances are much less.
My girlfriend is 8 years younger than me. Not a huge difference in ages but some things do come up. Her cultural reference points are much different than mine. She does get in some old man jokes here and there. But in general we are at the same places in our lives.
Go at it, might work, might not, but give it a try. At 30, the younger party should hopefully have their head on straight. I also think a 52 yr old woman and a 30 year old guy might hit it off. 
With the May - December romances around me, it seems to me that the relationships that are going strong involve people who just happen to fall in love with a person of a different age group. It’s about the person, not the age group.
On the other hand…
Of the people near me there are several people (mainly men, but one woman) who only * want to date people 20 or 30 years younger. Age is the most important thing* regarding their mythical mate.
That is where it hasn’t ended well for the older party in the long run, but then I’ve made references to my Uncles mail order bride situation before. 
34/59 here. I’m the 34 one. Currently, I’m helping Bill recover from heart surgery. Bill is recovering well, but I got smacked in the face with the knowledge that I really will outlive him by many years. This is something that your friend needs to consider.
We will be talking about getting married next year. This has been a life changing event for both of us, so we need some time to calm down and think. If its right for us now, it will be right for us in a year.
IMNSHO, if it is working for you 2…go for it. Life is short, why pass up the chance to love and be happy just because people look at you funny? Just wait for a year before making any life choices.