Are age-gap relationships a solution to the lack of men in the Church?

Sienna Miller is fourteen years older than her partner and age-gaps this way around are becoming less unusual. Shovorne Adams, who herself has a younger husband, asks if women marrying younger men can finally shake off the ‘cougar’ slur.

Now, I’ll be transparent: my husband is significantly (ten years) younger than me. 

There has been criticism of couples who don’t have a conventional age gap but instead have a significant one, and much of that criticism is aimed at women. If we’re younger, we’re gold-diggers looking for money, security, or a father figure, not love. If we’re older, we’re labelled ugly names, cougar or ‘mutton-dressed-as-lamb’ looking for a one-night stand and not love.

Well, it’s 2024, and society can keep its woman-shaming attitudes to itself because we won’t stand for it, and neither do we care as long as we’re happy in our marriages.