Ask Yahoo!
Ask Home - Yahoo! - Help

 Ask Yahoo!
Monday October 17, 2005 Previous | Next
Dear Yahoo!:
What exactly is a May-December romance?
Laura
Santa Monica, California
Dear Laura:
The stuff Hollywood gossip columns are made of. Not to mention plenty of sappy movies and romance novels. It didn't start with Ashton and Demi, but the 27-year-old groom and 42-year-old bride could be the poster couple for May-December romances.

The term refers to a romantic pairing where one person is significantly older than the other. The age difference is at least a decade, but often more. The phrase comes from the younger person being in the "spring" of his or her life (i.e., May), while the older partner is in his or her "winter" (i.e., December).

Despite the gold-digger and boy-toy clichés, May-December relationships are pretty common throughout history. British royalty often paired up differently aged partners based on family trees and political needs. Even modern arranged marriages can have a large age difference within the couple.

These days, the politically correct term seems to be "age-gap relationships," and they're not just for movie stars. Just make sure to do some careful financial planning, Ashton, because Demi's proceeds from "G.I. Jane" won't last forever.

 
Related Links
·Ask Y!: What is Juneteenth?
·Y! Personals
More Questions About
·Words & Wordplay
·Yahoo! Answers - Words & Wordplay
Get Ask Your Way
·Most Popular
·Yahoo! Toolbar
· View RSS Feed  add to My Yahoo!
Email this page -    Save to del.icio.us    Save to My Web    Digg This

Copyright © 2005 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Copyright/IP Policy

All information available through or in connection with Ask Yahoo! is informational only and provided "as is" without warranties, representations, or guarantees of any kind. Yahoo! disclaims any and all implied warranties respecting Ask Yahoo!. Use of Ask Yahoo! is entirely at your own risk and is not a substitute for conducting your own research.