Age Gaps

[magic]

Can relationships work when then is a an age gap? What is what you may call an acceptable age gap?
im currently in a relationship with a woman 11 years older(im 21 and she is 32) ! to us the age difference means nothing, we get well and things are, at the moment, going great!
the age gap doesn't seem to bother too many people, my friends are fine with it (altough they do wind me up bout it, the way friends do!) and so are hers friends!
family seems to be where the problems are, my parents seem to be quite hung up on the fact she is so much older! they also dislike the fact that she is a mother to 3 children!
just wandering what others think about the situation?!!

[Westles]

Well mate, im in the opposite to you, my girlfriend has just turned 16 and im 18 and a half, i get a loada stick from the lads but i just take it on the chin and get on with it.

[Browser]

What other people think of it doesn't really matter, imo. If there is no other reason to not continue a relationship with the other person (and all parties are of legal age) why break it off?

[WallyLlama]

If you do some research, you'll find that age gap relationships (AGR) are not so uncommon and there are actually some sites devoted to them. Often times they work even better than "regular" relationships, partly because the couple involved have to be a bit deliberate and very committed. AGR are not without their challenges.

How others, especially family, view them is one of the challenges. Very often family feels obligated to "protect" (particularly the younger party). In a sense, however, it's no different than non-AGR. How much input should a family have in one's choice of a lover or spouse?

Part of your family's concern is really about "ages and stages." You are at the age/stage where your life is, in a way, just starting... the "norm" would be that you'd be looking forward, considering starting a family... so in a sense, you can be seen as "jumping ahead" to a ready-made famiy. Not unreasonable that people would be concerned.

There is nothing wrong with jumping ahead, of course... but you might want to understand (to a point) why others will question it... if you have questioned it yourself, you know how to answer, right?

It's easy for me to digress on this one, I'm in an AGR. LOL Trust me, the gap is a LOT bigger than yours.

Age (the number) is not the issue. Understanding what the issues are and having a mechanism for dealing with them together is the issue.