Are We Finally Ready to Talk About Age Gap Relationships?
Recent celebrity age gap scandals have made me reflect on my past
Recently, there have been a few incidents that have fostered a discussion on what kind of an age gap is acceptable in a relationship.
A few days ago, the singer of Smashing Pumpkins married his long-term partner. He is 56 and she is 30, but when they met, she was 19 and he was 45.
Two days ago, the comedian Dane Cook married his “longtime partner”. He is 51 and she is 24. When they met, she was 17. He claims that they only got together after they had been friends for a while, after she turned 18.
But the most extreme example we’ve seen over the past few weeks has been Russell Brand. The former comedian was the subject of a documentary where four women alleged he had raped or sexually assaulted them.
One of the reported victims was 16 years old at the time. She said that her mother had tried to step in but there was nothing she could do — she was past the age of consent, it was legal.
One of the most heartbreaking parts of the documentary was when she said Brand sent a car to come pick her up and drive her to his house. The driver begged her not to go inside. He said his child is around her age, and that he would…
