Experts at the University of California surveyed more than 6, men and women aged 22 to 85 and challenged received wisdom by finding that both sexes enjoy being the older partner.
The researchers say that while women often tend to settle down with older β and maybe wiser or richer β men, it can be a different story when it comes to intimacy. Similarly, Madonna , 66, is 38 years older than her latest toyboy, soccer player Akeem Morris, and Cher , 78, has 40 years on music-executive boyfriend Alexander Edwards. Actress Priyanka Chopra , 42, is ten years the senior of rocker husband Nick Jonas, while film director Sam Taylor-Johnson, 57, is 23 years further down the road than actor husband Aaron.
LAST year I met a man 20 years younger than me and the sex with him was mind-blowing. He was more appreciative and less resentful than men my own age. He was also physically fitter β at the peak of his maleness and full of youthful testosterone. When it came to the moment of truth, there was some anxiety. I got undressed the first time with my back to him. Now I always keep a bottle of wine or champagne chilling in the fridge to help smooth over those moments.
We might see an old hag in the mirror but they see something exotic and different β they see a goddess. I had resigned myself to living like a nun but am now having the last laugh. A year-old man charmed me, wooed me and made me feel giddy.
As older women, we have something to teach young men, and the whole dynamic is like a breath of fresh air. If you go cougar -hunting you have to turn off the body noise and stop being afraid to show yourself off. But be prepared for rival cougars sharpening their claws β statistics show 25 per cent of women over 40 have dated a younger man, so there is plenty of competition out there. While men older than me tend to shuffle, my toyboy would swagger into a room and grab me for what I called the throwdown β a way of pulling me toward him for a Hollywood kiss like in Gone With The Wind.
