by Rosa Radikalis

Created on: December 26, 2006   Last Updated: May 04, 2007

Are you beginning a relationship with a person considerably older or younger than yourself? Being married to a man twenty years my senior I know from experience just how rewarding such a relationship can be. My marriage has helped me to develop both spiritually and mentally. My husband is far more mature then most men my own age. I can converse with him about anything. Furthermore our sex life is great. However before falling head over heels in love with your partner, it's important to give the relationship careful consideration. Of course no relationship is problem free. But a relationship with a substantial age gap could face more troubles than most and is less likely to last. For instance Frank Sinatra married Mia Farrow in 1966.

She was 21. He was 50. It was over just two years later.

Unfortunately there are many stereotypes associated with age gap relationships. The elder partner is often perceived as being abnormal. Internet advice columnist Sally Ann Lasson wrote "Up to ten years is acceptable. Above that it starts looking a bit creepy, and as it's the woman who is invariably the young one, you can't help but think the guy is a pervert."

If the woman does happen to be the older mate in the match, she is subjected to even more criticism, regardless of the fact that Hollywood stars such as Demi Moore and Cameron Diaz have recently made such affairs more glamorous. Older women who date younger men are often labeled cougars, cradle robbers' and even child molesters'.

The younger partner can also be the subject of spiteful gossip. Many people imagine that they are in the relationship only in order to access the elder partner's wealth. People can't grasp the concept that a young person could actually love an individual considerably older than themselves. Instead they are thought of as users.

The celebrity Anna Nicole Smith is notorious for being a money-grabber. Most people refuse to acknowledge that love might have entered into the equation when she married the billionaire tycoon J Howard Marshall.

Another assumption people make about the younger individual in age gap relationships is that they are looking for a parent in their partner. Other people sometimes presume they have psychological issues and are subconsciously trying to replace an absent or negligent mother or father. I'm sure the term sugar daddy', for example, is one which we have all heard.

Unfortunately discrimination is not the only snag associated with age gap relationships. The elder of the two

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