For celebrity couples, age is just a number
It is a trend for both Hollywood celebrities and CU students to ignore age differences and embark on relationships anyway.
The road goes both ways; there are many older men who date younger women, as well as a few older women who date younger men.
After finding and asking 10 students on campus about their relationships, age gaps quickly became apparent.
Out of the 10 people surveyed, only four people are dating someone their own age. Three are dating people who at least one year older, two people are dating people who are two years older, and one is dating someone three years older.
Jennifer Morss, a sophomore sociology major, thinks it is completely normal for people with an age gap to date; celebrities simply receive more attention when thy do the same thing students do.
“It’s normal for normal people to date older or younger people; there’s quite a few people who have that age gap,” Morss said. “It’s just more surprising because they’re celebrities.”
One of the best examples of a Hollywood cougar is actress Demi Moore. Moore, who has been in numerous movies from “Ghost” to “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle,” has been in the business for years.
Moore is currently married to actor Ashton Kutcher, well-known for his role on “That 70’s show” and as the producer and star of the MTV celebrity prank show “Punk’d.”
Moore was born in 1962 and Kutcher was born in 1978, which makes room for a 16-year age difference between the couple. To put it into perspective, Moore was in the movie “Ghost,” in 1990 when Kutcher was only 5.
This cougar has three daughters; the oldest is only 10 years younger than Kutcher. This means Kutcher is closer to his wife’s daughter’s age than his actual wife’s age.
Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher’s relationship is not the only one with a large age gap.
Their romance resembles the relationship between actor Tom Cruise, who was also born in 1962, and actress Katie Holmes, who, like Kutcher, was born in 1978.
Holmes used to date actor Chris Klein, who is only one year older than she is. Cruise was previously married to Nicole Kidman, who is only five years younger than Cruise.
These couples mirror each other in ages, and so far both relationships have lasted.
However, not all students understand how they have lasted this long.
“I think it’s weird that people could be attracted to someone from such a different generation,” said Ashley Cannon, a sophomore psychology major. “They have had completely different life experiences.”
A young Hollywood couple recently introduced to the public are the stars of the action packed series “Heroes.”
Hayden Panettiere and actor Milo Ventimiglia have come out and also breached the age gap. Unlike typical cougar scenarios, the man in this relationship is the cradle robber.
Panettiere is 18 years old, and Ventimiglia is 30 years old. This onscreen couple is taking their romance off scene, and their 12 year age difference does not seem to be impacting them.
Joining the age train are actors Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The couple got married in 2000 despite their enormous 25 year age difference.
Ironically enough, the couple has the same birthday on Sept. 25, except they were born 25 years apart. Zeta-Jones was born Sept. 25 1969, and Douglas was born Sept. 25, 1944.
Douglas has been an actor and producer in several popular movies including “Fatal Attraction” and “Traffic.” Zeta-Jones has been in the hit movies such as “Ocean’s Twelve” and “Chicago.”
Actress Halle Berry is another cougar. According to biography.com, Berry was born in 1966 and is dating Versace model Gabriel Aubrey, who was born in 1976. The two are even expecting a child together.
Samuel Blumenthal, a sophomore open-option major, feels sorry for the younger half of these couples because they may have to be alone at some point in their lives.
“Whoever is younger is going to be alone for a long time when the other dies- that’s going to be horrible for the person who is much younger and still has a lot of life to live,” Blumenthal said.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Melanie Cohn at Melanie.Cohn@colorado.edu
