Across Western countries, about 8 per cent of all married heterosexual couples can be classified as having a large age gap (10 years or more). These generally involve older men partnered with younger women. About 1 per cent of age-gap couples involve an older woman partnered with a younger man.

How common are big age gap relationships?

U.S. Census Bureau data from 1999 reports 8.5 percent of married couples are in age-gap relationships, with the older party identifying as a man in 7.2 percent of cases, and the older party identifying as a woman in 1.3 percent.

What is considered a large age gap between couples?

Heterosexual couples tend to have about a three-year age difference, research suggests. Evolutionary psychology explains why men are usually older in heterosexual age-gap relationships.

Do marriages with large age gaps last?

However, that satisfaction fades over time in marriages with a significant age gap between the partners, a team from the University of Colorado Boulder has found. We find that men who are married to younger wives are the most satisfied, and men who are married to older wives are the least satisfied.

Do marriages with a big age difference work?

Both men and women report initially being more satisfied in their marriage when their spouses were younger, research reports. Though couples with an age gap started out more satisfied, however, their satisfaction tended to drop more dramatically over time than couples who were the same age.