And the flip side of the coin:
I've just started to date younger guys, as in up to 10 years. I got tired of hearing about the wicked ex wives and being with someone who didn't want to get off their butt and go somewhere. I'm put at anywhere from 5 to 10 years younger that I am, good family genes and healthy lifestlye now following, and see no need in a the just start dating stage to correct anyone.

Someone with a sense of humor and not ready to roll over and play dead: really important.

I like younger men. Always have, always will. I am very youthful and look very young for my age. As long as they are legal, that's fine with me.

Older than me is another story. I do not feel comfortable with anything beyond 5 years older than myself. It may work for some other people, but honestly it is not for me.

My husband and I are 14 years apart. We were introduced by a mutual friend who's age is somewhere in the middle there. Anyway, our ages didn't exactly come up when we first met, or for a while after that. When we finally did the math, we realized if the age difference was a problem it would have come up already on it's own. There really have been no issues with it since.

Ashton Kutcher & Demi Moore seem really happy together
So do Katie Holmes & Tom Cruise
A big age difference doesn't really matter when you're in love

As for me, though, I would never date anyone 10 years younger or older
Because 9 is just a tad bit too young, don't you think? :D :D :D
And 29 seems really old to me. Because that's almost 30. And to me, 30 is old. lol
But that's just me :)

One of my best relationships was a 6 year difference, she was 18 and I was 24, but we clicked really well and even though I unfortunately hit that "I just graduated from college and need to get my shit together" stage when she hit that "OMG I'm in college and now I can party ALL THE TIME" stage, which caused our lives to skew off into different directions, she's still a very close friend now.

I have always dated men older than me. I don't recall ever dating someone my own exact age. My boyfriend is nearly 11 years older than me and I never even think about it except for when we're talking about things like pop culture and I realize that, whoa, he was in college in 1984 when I was in second or third grade!

Normally I don't date anyone over 3 years older than me, but I can say that sometimes it works out. My parents are 17 years apart and they have been married for 29 years....so I can't discriminate if everything is going right...

^^^^ I don't know about that one....hmmmmmm


and is it just me or has she not been in a movie since the whole TomKat thing started?

I think Thank You For Smoking was after the couch-jumping thing (I think the Batman one was as well), and maybe it WAS Thank You For Smoking, but I remember a controversy about Tom getting a sex-scene cut out of one of her movies.

ETA: IMDB shows that she's got 3 in the works right now.

Well Katie Holmes & Tom Cruise are 16 years apart

There was a sex scene in Thank You For Smoking. If I recall, she actually did a topless scene in it.

It probably helped her career being with Tom Cruise. I don't remember her doing much A-List stuff before that.

Dawson's Creek was just about as A-List as TV gets. Yeah, there are a ton of more popular teen dramas now, but it was pretty much the predecessor of The OC/One Tree Hill/etc.

I would date someone older, as long as they aren't boring. But it seems that those two go together. There's so many people my age and older who take themselves so seriously, or life itself very seriously. For that reason, I'd prefer to date someone younger. Or, maybe I should leave this city.

Ok, I haven't said anything about this issue, but now I am going to do so. I am married to a man who is very exciting, wonderful, and fun; however, he happens to be 10+ years older than me. I think people should date or marry whoever makes them happy. Limiting one's self to a certain age bracket is like shooting one's self in the foot--you could be missing out on the best person you could ever meet. Now, that being said, obviously underaged teenagers should not be dating 40 year old men; that is just insane. But when someone is of age, age shouldn't be a factor in who he or she dates.

I am thinking movies versus TV. Generally movie stars are considered to be "bigger" than Tv-stars, unless you really like the show.

I think it depends on where you are in life, not age. When I was 20, I dated my 42 year old boss. Bad choice-he was divorced with 2 kids. When I was 22, I dated a 33 year old. Bad choice again-He was seperated with one kid and went back to his wife for a short while. He called me when it didn't work out. I said no thanks. I was much happier dating NBMs with no kids, because at the time, that is what I was. Age didn't matter when I was dating. (Now I'm married-of course, he was a NBM with no kids and happens to be just under 2 years older than me.)

I think you should leave that city.

My husband is 7 years older than me. I much prefer older men - always have.

Has anyone had any reservations about telling their families about their older significant other?

I'm currently dating an older guy.. and whlie we aren't serious or exclusive (we've only gone an a couple dates), I'd like to be able to let my family know, but I guess I'm worried how they are going to react because he's 10+ yrs older than me... eep!

Initially, the age thing kind of weirded me out, but he's a good guy and lots of fun to be around so we've gone out a few times.

Worst case scenario, they will tell you they don't want you dating him. In my case, my family decided NOT to attend my wedding, due to mine and my husband's age difference, as well as a host of other issues. In most cases, though, I think that once people meet the individual, they won't have such an extreme reaction to him or her. Good luck! I'm sure it will all work out for the best.

Do you really need to deal with the age issue if you are not serious/exclusive? Unless he's, oh, in his sixties and you are in your twenties I don't know that it is necessary to cross that particular bridge, texasprincess.Are you planning to introduce him to your family? If not - just wait. If it turns out he is "the one", surely your happiness will be paramount, and they won't freak out over the age difference.

No.. he's not in his 60's! haha

And I'm not planning on bringing him to meet the family anytime soon ('cause like I mentioned, we have just gone on a couple of dates so it's not like we're about to get married! haha), I just wanted to be honest w/ my family and not feel like I'm "hiding" something.... but then at the same time I don't want them to freak out.. esp. my dad b/c he's protective of his girls.. hehehe

I'd treat him like every other boyfriend - if the family asks "How old is he?", then I'd tell them . Otherwise, I'd just work it in casually at an appropriate time. Good luck!