When you fall in love you do not ask a person their age or their religion, the realization comes afterwards but it is too late and your hearts have spoken. You are in love and that's all that matters. You both want to give your all to this marriage and there are many lucky couples who experience years of marital bliss despite differences in age or religion. For some though the age gap starts to affect the marriage as the years pass and the younger partner feels unfulfilled and unhappy as some of their expectations of marriage are not met.

The older man, (and by the older man I am assuming the man is at least 10 years or older than the woman), might not have the drive that the woman expects of him. If he is not particularly fit and active the difference in years will show up at some stage or another and he will want to take things slower and not be as active physically as a younger man would. In the beginning he might make efforts to keep up with his younger partner but as the years pass the effort required might gradually wane and this is when disillusionment might result. There are obviously older men who might be fitter than their younger partners and these are exceptions to the rule. They can live up to the expectations of a woman much younger than them and a few famous men come to mind who are seen with women nearly 20 years their junior.

These are the men people look at with a raised eyebrow because the first thing that comes to mind is money. Why would a young beautiful woman be with a man old enough to be their father? It seems unnatural and again in a few cases it might be true love that is the reason they are together, but more often than not, the man is very rich and that is what the younger woman is attracted to. All her material needs are met and for some women that is the priority of their lives. They have a house and jewellery and a new car and they are happy, age is immaterial in this case. Others might want security and a father figure for their children from a previous marriage and they are happy if an older man can provide this love and security. Again the age difference provides no obstacles for them, it is the best way forward at that point in their lives.

In some cases the wisdom and experience of an older man is extremely attractive to any woman particularly to a younger woman. If she was a daddy's girl and very much loved by her father than it is difficult sometimes to find this quality in a young man her own age. It is the older man who will give her the same sort of stability, love and support that she has grown up with. It will not be hard for her to fall in love with such a man reminding us of some aspects of Freud's Oedipus complex.

While financial stability seems to be the primary reason why a young woman would want to marry an older man, there are some women who fall in love without any pre planning. They cannot help who they fall for and it does not matter if the man is 10 or 15 years their senior. Love is blind as they say and they have not planned who they are going to be with. In such cases love is the reason for their choice and it is defintely the right reason to build their married life on.

Learn more about this author, Shaheen Darr.
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