36 year old man-26 year old woman, what happens when......

[jjreadme]

I am a 36 year old man and my gf is 26, we have been together for about 5 months and thus far everything has been fine. Is an age gap like this common or do others out there with similar gaps find that there are or are not problems. Can something like this work or is the age gap too great? Any thoughts?

[cichlid]

I don't think the age gap is that great, but that is only because you two are both adults (and not just barely adults). I think it can work out just fine since the two of you are obviously mature. But anyway only dating will tell if it works out and since you have been dating her for quite awhile and no problems have come up...chances are that the age gap is not a problem.

[xprincessbugx]

Your both at a mature age to be able to work your problems out in the relationship with that much of an age gap. I think you'll do just fine.

[blueyes25]

My parents have a 10 year age gap and they have been happily married for almost 25 years...I think they had there differences, but they truly are best friends. My dad says my mom keeps him young. Ha! I don't know if this helps, but I guess I am telling you this to let you know that it can definitely work.

[coollady1957]

I don't think the age gap of 26 and 36 should be a problem. Afterall, she has had time to mature, and get some experience in life, even though still in her 20's.

 

There is an age gap of nine years between my brother and sister in law and they never had age gap differences that I am aware of.

[jjreadme]

I want to thank all of you for responding. You have allayed my fears and put me at great ease. I wish you all well.

[coollady1957]

By the way , my brother and sister in law actually married when they were 22 and 31 years of age . They have been married for 24 years as of this past June.

[shes2smart]

When I met my husband he was 26 and I was 37.

 

He proposed a week after our first date and we got married less than a year after. That was 4 years ago.

 

Best decision either of us has ever made.

[ChrissyV]

Oh 10 years is so not a big deal!!!

If she were 16 and you were 26, that would be a problem!

But since that's not the case, I wouldn't worry if I were you.

[Jane0815]

Only argument against it: the dynamics might change over time.

 

If it's equal now and you like that, take a hard look at whether both will keep growing. And if it's NOT equal now and that's what's appealing, then even an age diff. much bigger than 10 years might not suffice.

 

In either case, it SUX bigtime when the younger outpaces/outgrows the older emotionally.

 

Warning, personal vent ahead:

In my marriage, age difference was one of the only things that was never an issue. If anything, we switched into more of a mother-son thing once I was living in his country and his "older, european, worldly" facade collapsed. Yes, he introduced me to wine (I was raised very anti-alcohol) but then I caught up, recognized that his tastes were pedestrian, and influenced =his= preferences. Yes, he introduced me to a bit of old-Europe I hadn't experienced when I lived (diff. country) on my own and a social circle that sounds fairy-tale to some, but I freaking coached him through his 30s. If I had a nickel for every time he called me and said something like, "Today I used your ABC-rule-of-thumb in handling situation Z with client Y", heck I'd be able to swallow the tax penalty of going through with the divorce. Yes, he has a doctorate, but I've read texts over his shoulder and found solutions HE hadn't thought of.

 

I recall meeting a =much= older guy when I was 21 or so ... in talking about the age diff, he said "you're my equal" and that was the deal-breaker for me. I thought, no way - for whatever reason you can't face a same-age woman, and you really think I'm dumb enough to fall for that and forgive things she wouldn't?! After separating from X, I went out with a few different much-older guys a few times. Coffee and a museum or concert was fine, and more relaxed than what I'd experienced with guys my age who're panicking to start families, but the lack of maturity showed up really quickly.

 

Long story short, it all depends on the situation, just be sure you're clear on what you're counting on.