Over in the UK, the British media are buzzing with a story about a TV presenter named Caroline Flack. She’s 31 and allegedly used to date Prince Harry, amongst others.
But it’s not royalty that the media are getting in a spin over. She has a job presenting one of the shows for singing talent competition, X Factor UK. One of last year’s biggest success stories are a boy band – One Direction. The boys age in range from 16-18. The main hear-throb that the screaming teenagers adore is a 17 year old called Harry Styles. And it’s rumoured that he and Caroline are dating.
I do feel sorry for Ms Flack in as much as she has been receiving death threats from distraught fans of Harry’s, but, by any measure, a 17 year old boy with a 31 year old woman is a pretty huge age gap. While the age of consent in the UK is 16, they certainly aren’t doing anything illegal, but it’s certainly pushing the boundaries and ruffling feathers.
I met my husband when he was 23 and I was 33. Would I have even contemplated dating him if he was 17 – 19 even? Probably not, truth be told. But, for Harry, isn’t that the fantasy of many a young man – to have an older, more experienced woman to ‘show him the ropes’? It’s Mrs Robinson in the extreme, but still something that many men would dream of experiencing.
The truth is, I don’t know what to think about it. While I naturally support age gap relationships, I know if she was 41 and he was 27, I wouldn’t give it another thought. But 17. It’s *so* close to the limit it makes me uncomfortable. Equally, I know that many similar relationships where the age gap is reversed and the man is older don’t attract the same attention, which makes me want to defend it.
I’m really torn on this – what do you think?
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