Cougars and Contributing Factors

I was thinking about the idea of Cougars. I have a friend who dated a younger man, my mom dated younger through much of my childhood, and it’s sort of an “in thing” these days, so I’m curious about it. Actually I have a little more experience than that – I was married to a younger man at one point, although as we’ve aged, the age difference seems pretty small now.

I asked a friend if certain factors might balance the years out a bit more.

For example, if a man is in his mid to late 20s, but he’s already been married, divorced, and he’s a single dad, might that make him more mature than a man of the same age who has always lived on his own?

A man who already has a family, chances are he might even be more mature than the guy who is single in his 30s. Wouldn’t the maturity level make a difference in the span of years? Or if not maturity, maybe they’d have more in common than a woman in her 40s and a man in his 20s normally would?

I know that it seems a passing fad, there are long term couples out there for whom it’s worked very well. Goldie Hahn/Kurt Russell and Susan Sarandon/Tim Robbins come to mind. These people moved beyond attraction to commitment and something was present in their relationships that balanced out the age difference. What sort of factors influenced the transition?

I’ll let you know if I figure it out. I’d love to hear your idea, if you’ve got a theory.

Image credit: Michelle Smith