RELATIONSHIPS
Cher is 72. Her Boyfriend is 37.
What could possibly go wrong?
Cher is 72. Her boyfriend is 37. Is this a trend? Are septuagenarian women dating Millennials now?
I’m 68. Is there a 30-something boyfriend in my future? And would I really want to go out with a dude who was still in diapers the year I graduated from law school?
Mind the age gap
After my last relationship ended six years ago, I tried online dating. I had fun and, just as important for a writer, I was able to publish a dozen essays and humor pieces about the experience:
But nobody in their 30s was clamoring to date me. In fact, just the opposite was true. It turned out that all the men on online dating sites wanted to date younger babes, not older ones.
After deciding that I didn’t want to spend my golden years taking care of some old fart, I deleted my online dating account and resolved to live happily ever after as a single person.
“Ridiculous on paper”
Are things changing? Does Cher’s latest romance mean that young dudes have decided that really older women are hot? Could this mean that men in general are more open to dating women their own age or even older?
Cher has said that her relationship with a 37-year-old is “ridiculous on paper.” But in real life, she adds, “we get along great.”
I’ve got news for you, Cher — it’s ridiculous in reality too. But if you can win the love of a man who is, as you describe your boyfriend, “kind, intelligent, and handsome?” With the stamina of a 37-year-old?
Who am I to tell you to settle for some dude in his 70s?
Besides, one of the best things about Cher has always been that she’s never been afraid of being ridiculous.
The takeaway
When it comes right down to it, I don’t think that Cher’s relationship means that men are becoming more appreciative about what older women have to offer and more open to dating us.
All it really means is that Cher is so fabulous that none of the ordinary rules for dating apply to her.
Maybe the real takeaway is that we women of a certain age should resolve to go out there and be as rule-breaking and free-wheeling as Cher has always been. We need to start making our own rules and see how many barriers we can break through and how much fun we can have.
And if men don’t find that attractive? The one thing most senior women have learned by now is that we don’t need a man in order to be happy.
Love doesn’t always make much sense, but that’s nothing new. As my father, a psychoanalyst, used to say about relationships, “Whatever works!” Although dating a Millennial wouldn’t work for me, I wish Cher and her young sweetie all the best.
Writing Coach and editor-for-hire Roz Warren, who writes for everyone from the Funny Times to the New York Times, can help you improve and publish your work. Drop her a line at [email protected]. (That’s Ros with an “s,” not a “z.”)
