My wife and I are almost 11 years apart chronologically. Maturity it is a different story. We met when she was 21. I had been previously married but had been divorced for about 4 years with one child. We will celebrate being married 10 years next may. I got lucky and tricked her into thinking I was a good catch.

We have had minor issues due to age difference but have always been able to work them out.

I am one lucky bastard. Except she can run a hell of a lot faster than I can.

I think it's less an issue of number of years are it is not crossing certain lines, although there are always exceptions. Like over and under 18 can obviously be a problem, esp if we're talking about an age gap of more than 2 years or so. Likewise over and under 21 - there's such a huge difference in maturity and outlook for so many people pre- and post-college (or substitute employment for those that work right out of high school). Once both parties are over 21, rarely does age become a deal breaker (maybe a 22 y/o and a 65y/o would raise some eyebrows.

I dont have any good personal stories - I've dated women 7 and 5 years older than me (24 and 31, 25 and 30) - no big deal.

---

_______________________________________________

Well I tend to belive that the "cycles of life" are more numerous.

For instance under and over 18. I'd say I'd rather see an 18yr old dating a 15yr old than a 21yr old.

I think there is a huge difference, in most cases, between a 19-20, still in college, type than a 25-26 been in the real world working for a few years type.

Also I think we have a tendencey to go thru cycles a whole. I'd say that people probably go thru them at different times and for differnet reasons, thie is part of the reason any age gap can be possible, but for the most part we follow a fairly similar pattern.

Most people do the HS, College, get a job, start a family, raise the family, raised the family, retire, die...

I think for the most part people need to be close to each of these areas in order for there to be some level of compatability. IOW "HS" doesn't fit real well with anything beyond "College". "Retire" doesn't fit well with "Raise Family".

So the point is not so much that the age is the issue but where people are in their life. So some people skip college and go right to work...some people skip HS and "start a family".

~Matt