18-Year-Old’s Family Reveals Their Thoughts On Him Dating A Woman Who’s 23 — ‘He Takes Her To School Dances’
"I think it's weird she was born in the '90s, and he was born in the 2000s."
Donna Ella Coleman / Shutterstock Age gaps between partners are quite controversial nowadays. Everyone has an opinion about what constitutes an appropriate age difference within a couple, especially when the younger of the two is freshly an adult.
One 18-year-old recently attempted to reassure skeptics that his relationship with his 23-year-old girlfriend was completely healthy by sharing some of his family members’ thoughts regarding the blossoming romance.
The 18-year-old man’s family shared their support for his relationship with a 23-year-old woman.
While the age gap may be alarming to some people, the man’s family members are clearly unbothered by it — if slightly confused. In a TikTok video viewed over 13 million times, some of the man’s family members shared their thoughts regarding the relationship.
The man’s sister said that the two are “OK together," adding that his girlfriend “buys him a lot of things that make him really happy.”
“She treats him really well!” the sister said. “She’s a grown-up, so she has everything in check. She has her own apartment that they go to … I’m happy for him!”
The man’s cousin also shared his opinion on the couple.
"I'm the cousin, and I think it's kinda weird that she was born in the '90s and he was born in the 2000s,” he stated. "But, other than that, she brings nice veggie trays, but he takes her to school dances, so I find it kind of weird."
The woman’s younger sister even jumped in to reveal her thoughts on the relationship. Although she said that she initially thought it was weird her sister was dating someone much younger than her, she's now "used to it."
Many viewers expressed their support for the happy couple, while some voiced their concerns regarding the age gap.
“As long as you’re both happy, the five years between you shouldn’t matter!” one TikTok user commented.
“My boyfriend and I have a 4.5-year age gap. I met him when he basically just turned 19 lol and we’ve been together for 2 years now. It’s weird at first but you get through it,” another user shared.
The couple attended the man’s high school prom together, and they looked absolutely stunning!
In a separate video, the woman, named Kylie, explained how she met her boyfriend, Frank, despite their age gap.
Frank shared that Kylie and his sister used to be friends, and that one day while she was at the house, she wandered into Frank’s bedroom when he wasn’t home and wrote “Kylie was here” with a heart on his whiteboard.
Although Frank began talking to Kylie on social media shortly thereafter, Kylie chimed in adding that they "had to wait five years because, forgot to mention, he was an eighth grader at the time and I was a senior in high school."
The couple claimed to have waited until he was a senior in high school and she was a senior in college before starting the relationship.
“Now we’re together and in love!” Kylie said.
While age-gap romances are not unheard of, depending on the number of years between partners, they can't come with unique challenges. According to a study published in the Journal of Population Economics, couples with a zero- to three-year age gap are more satisfied in their relationship than those with a four- to six-year gap. The study also found that couples with a four- to six-year gap, like Kylie and Frank, showed greater satisfaction than those with a seven-plus-year gap.
This young couple's age gap may be shocking to some, but both Kylie and Frank are two adults capable of consenting to a relationship. Even if they may be in different phases of their lives, they appear to be working through it and focusing on their relationship.
Based on their videos and the way the two look at each other, they appear happy and in love and deserve support from their loved ones. Luckily, they appear to have it!
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.