Age-gap relationships are dominating culture right now, with films like Babygirl, The Idea of You, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, and Lonely Planet, shows like Rivals, and novels like Intermezzo and All Fours all spotlighting intergenerational romance. 

Now, new research suggests that this isn’t a trend confined to the fictional realm. According to a recent survey by sex toy brand LELO, more than four out of five people (82.5 per cent) have broadened their age range on dating apps in the past year.

14 per cent of women aged 45 to 55+ say they’re open to dating younger partners, while 16 per cent of men aged 18 to 24 have warmed up to the idea of dating older women.

While age-gap relationships have been regarded as somewhat taboo since the MeToo era, with society more aware of how power imbalances in relationships can sometimes pave the way to abuse, this wave of new age-gap films, TV shows, and books has demonstrated that relationships can be lopsided without being predatory. Moreover, many of them have illustrated how awareness of a power imbalance in a relationship can actually be pretty exciting.

“Post-MeToo, women have been encouraged to be hyper-vigilant when it comes to sex and relationships: we’re never meant to lead with our hearts; we’re never meant to get carried away,” Dazed wrote last year. “Stories about age-gap relationships [remind] us that sometimes love doesn’t make sense, or breaks convention, and that’s OK.”

Keen to embark on your own age-gap romance? You can read Beth McColl’s advice for how to navigate an intergenerational relationship here.