You may have noticed that age-gap relationships have, of late, become something of a talking point. While British daytime television is grappling with the headline-grabbing “unwise but not illegal” antics of a certain disgraced presenter, the men across the pond are also giving us a run for our money in the icky Olympics.
Yesterday, it was revealed that Hollywood royalty and man who has already transcended the US life expectancy age, Al Pacino, is expecting his fourth child — with his new 29-year-old socialite girlfriend Noor Alfallah. Yes, at 83, Pacino is to welcome a child with someone 54 years his junior — and four years younger than his own daughter.
The latest addition to the new Hollywood dads who statistically should be no longer with us, Pacino joins Robert DeNiro, 79, who this month revealed he had become a father for the seventh time. Because why not, I suppose.
These relationships never fail to provoke fascination and disgust in equal measure. We scour the internet looking for pictures, trying to compute how their union is viable, and put our finger on why it feels so uncomfortable.
When adding a child to the equation there is, of course, the obvious fact that it is incredibly selfish to knowingly subject them to all the psychological ramifications that come with the death of a parent at an early age.
I’ll admit, as a woman there is also a level of bitterness. What a luxury it is to be able to view having a child as a spontaneous, end-of-life crisis hobby, rather than a life-altering, career-altering, body-altering irreversible decision.
But the unsavouriness extends beyond that. Perhaps it is the fact that, no matter how much the parties involved claim age is “just a number”, these relationships often follow a similar pattern — an older man and a younger woman.
There are, of course, exceptions, but it is naive to buy the idea that these patterns are a coincidence. Leonardo DiCaprio isn’t tripping and falling into relationships exclusively with women under 25. They are a direct reflection of the depressing correlation between women’s youth and sexuality.
But hey, there are silver linings. If/when Al Pacino turns 100, his child will celebrate their 18th birthday. Joint party on the cards?
