Latest news with #powerdynamics
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Australia juggles its China trade needs with Philippines defence ties
As the Asia-Pacific's power dynamics continue to evolve and shift, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese 's visit to China promises to be a test of his country's ability to walk the fine line between economic self-interest and strategic resolve. His trip, which began on Saturday, unfolds against the backdrop of Australia 's deepening security ties with the Philippines , with Canberra stepping up support for Manila's maritime capabilities and increasing participation in patrols and joint military exercises. In April, Albanese's government donated 20 state-of-the-art surveillance drones worth 34 million pesos (US$600,000) to the Philippine Coast Guard, buttressing its maritime domain awareness just days after a near-collision between Philippine and Chinese vessels in contested waters. The donation was part of a broader civil maritime cooperation programme, encompassing vessel remediation, postgraduate scholarships, operational training, marine protection and maritime law seminars. Australia plans to double its investment in these initiatives to A$11.5 million (US$7.5 million) from 2025 to 2029. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr display signed documents after upgrading bilateral relations in September 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE Analysts say these moves reflect the pair's expanding ties over time. 'Australia and the Philippines are set to mark 80 years of diplomatic relations in 2026, with both countries motivated to further enhance the strategic partnership in the years ahead,' said Julio Amador, interim president of the Philippines-based Foundation for the National Interest think tank and founder and trustee of the non-profit policy advisory firm FACTS Asia.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Gen Z Is Particularly Weird About Relationship Age Gaps. Here's Why.
Is a five-year age gap in a relationship a little untoward? What about a three-year gap? On social media, Gen Zers ― at least those who are chronically online ― are constantly debating the ethics of age gaps. Even if some relationships are perfectly legal, that doesn't necessarily make them ethical, many say. It's little wonder then that age-disparate relationships are cause for so much conversation: Having grown up alongside the #MeToo movement, Generation Z is well versed in unbalanced power dynamics and the language of consent. And lately, there's been plenty of celebrity pairings to interrogate. There's the obviously icky examples, like the recent, short-lived romance between Aoki Lee Simmons — Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons' 21-year-old daughter — and restaurateur Vittorio Assaf, 65. Earlier this month, viral photos showed the pair flouncing around on vacation in St. Barts. Yes, they're both consenting adults, but it was still unseemly, critics said. If anything, the argument that they're both of age is 'something groomers cling to,' as one young woman on Threads put it. 'Adulthood was meant to signify voting/draft age,' she wrote. 'But everyone knows your prefrontal cortex is not fully formed at this age.' (This difference between so-called brain age and chronological age ― you might be 21 but your brain is undeveloped! ― often gets brought up in these kinds of conversations.) There are gender-swapped examples too, like actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson and filmmaker Sam Taylor-Johnson, a now-married couple who met while working on a 2009 John Lennon biopic called 'Nowhere Boy.' At the time, he was in his late teens and she was a mother of two in her early 40s. 'I didn't relate to anyone my age,' the actor told The Telegraph in 2019, reflecting on when they first met. 'I just feel that we're on the same wavelength.' Some fans aren't convinced. 'We def aren't talking about male grooming victims enough and this is literally proof,' one person wrote in a highly shared TikTok video about their coupling. Then there's the less expected critiques: Is four years too much of an age gap? 'At 25, I wouldn't even date a 21 year old,' reads one tweet with around 80,000 likes. What about 10 years? Fans of Billie Eilish were up in arms in 2022 when the then-20-year-old singer revealed that she was dating fellow musician Jesse Rutherford, who was in his early 30s. One viral tweet about the 10-year age gap reads: 'jesse rutherford was alive during george h w bush's presidency . billie eilish cannot legally drink.' Long-established relationships aren't safe, either. Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively's 11-year gap has been scrutinized. And recently, Beyhive members have begun debating whether Beyoncé was 'groomed' because she was 19 when she started dating Jay-Z, who was in his early 30s. Noncelebrity couples are getting called out, too. 'I was 19. My now husband was 27. My now 13yo child calls him my 'predator,'' one woman wrote on Threads alongside laughing emoji, probably only half-joking. Is Gen Z just more prudish on this subject than prior generations? Not necessarily, said Justin Lehmiller, a research fellow at the Kinsey Institute and the host of the 'Sex and Psychology Podcast.' He's been studying age-gap relationships for roughly 20 years and said the stigma around age-disparate relationships is long-standing. In 2008 ― when terms like 'cradle robber' and 'cougar' were bandied around a lot more than they are now ― Lehmiller co-authored a study that found age-discrepant couples reported experiencing significantly more social disapproval than people in gay or interracial couples. So the discomfort around these types of relationships isn't anything new. What is new, according to Lehmiller, is how comfortable Gen Z feels about publicly and vocally disapproving of these relationships ― even on people's personal Instagram pages. (Aaron and Sam Taylor-Johnson recently spoke out against the 'bizarre' online judgment they've received. Eilish and Rutherford brushed off the criticism from overly concerned fans by dressing up as a baby and an old man one Halloween.) 'To some in Gen Z, age-gap relationships read as being inherently exploitative because they perceive age discrepancies as necessarily creating a power imbalance that favors the older partner,' Lehmiller told HuffPost. What's also changed is which parties tend to receive the brunt of the judgment. In the past, people were often scornful of both the younger and older partners in these relationships. Historically, the younger partners, especially when they were women, endured labels like 'gold digger' ― with the implication that they were the ones doing the exploiting. That terminology doesn't always fly with Gen Z. 'That perception seems to have largely disappeared when you look at what Gen Z is saying,' Lehmiller noted. 'They seem to cast the younger partners as victims who are being preyed upon or 'groomed.'' Gigi Engle, a certified sex and relationship psychotherapist and resident intimacy expert for dating app 3Fun, worries that the term 'grooming' is being overapplied and losing its meaning. 'The narrative is really toxic here and in many other cases,' she told HuffPost. 'Trans people are groomers, gay people are groomers, older people dating younger people are groomers ― and this just isn't accurate. It's a really fear-mongering time we live in.' Gen Z may be hyperfocused on this because of their age: If you're a 35-year-old woman, you're probably less hung up on the idea of a 50-year-old guy expressing interest in you. 'I think younger people may be more susceptible to manipulation and are therefore more afraid of it,' Engle said. 'The reality is, age-gap relationships have been happening since humans have existed, and it is absolutely not some one-size-fits-all. In the vast majority of relationships like this, nothing untoward is happening.' Talking to actual Gen Zers, you'll find that their opinions on age gaps run the gamut. As with most things, their takes on the subject are much more nuanced than those found on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, would have you believe. That said, many are genuinely bothered by age gaps. While the #MeToo movement gave them the language to talk about power imbalances, some 20-somethings say their opinions are more colored by their own personal experiences. Layla — a 23-year-old who asked to use her first name only for privacy reasons, like others in this story — thinks it's better to date within your own age group, ideally within a two- or three-year range. 'When I was around 21 and 22, I tried talking to guys who were 30 and over but soon realized it wasn't right,' she told HuffPost. 'They had so much more life experiences than me, and it was awkward being from different generations.' Layla said she'd tried to joke and laugh about certain things ― a meme or a TikTok video ― and got a lot of blank stares. She wasn't a fan of their humor, either: Men recounting the umpteenth 'Seinfeld' episode or that one 'Step Brothers' scene gets a little old after a while. 'Trying to relate to one another just didn't work out, and it felt awkward and wrong,' she said. 'I believe a relationship between an 18- and 25-year-old is problematic,' Layla said, noting that this applies regardless of gender. 'I actually wish women got called out for their predatory behavior, too,' she said. 'It almost seems like no one wants to hold women accountable.' Mona, a 21-year-old college student in Georgia, even finds her own parents' 11-year age gap a little 'predatory': Her dad was in his late 30s and a divorced father of one when he met her mom, who was in her late 20s and didn't have children. Mona would date someone three years older. She wouldn't consider going younger, though. 'I do think that an 18- and 25-year-old together is unacceptable,' she said. She is particularly weirded out when she hears people talk about how their partner basically raised them or taught them 'how to be a woman,' as Beyoncé said to Jay-Z in a 2006 birthday toast that went viral recently. Mona is also wary of anyone who almost exclusively dates young people ― the Leonardo DiCaprios of the world. Every time the 49-year-old actor gets a new girlfriend, a graph highlighting the fact that each of his ex-girlfriends has been 25 or under starts circulating again. 'Any respectable adult would have the common sense that pursuing a teenager is extremely weird, and I also believe it says a lot about the headspace of the older person,' the 21-year-old said. Mona also thinks the COVID-19 pandemic might've been a factor in Gen Zers' apprehension over age gaps. They might technically be 21, but given that weird few-year pause, they don't feel it. 'You hear about how we're mentally the same age that we were when the pandemic first started,' she said. 'That might play a role in why some people are not settling on older people pursuing them ― you feel you're still too young.' Not everyone agrees. Rei, a 22-year-old who is queer, said they don't find age-disparate relationships inherently problematic. They said there's a lot more than age that gives people power over each other, and if you consider five years an 'age-gap relationship' then Rei is currently in one. 'Though my partner is older than me, I have a college degree and she doesn't,' they said. 'So arguably I have a better financial and career outlook that would make me the 'abusive one,' if you're using that language.' Age gaps may be more common in the queer community, Rei said. 'I don't know a gay guy who hasn't been with someone much older than him,' they said. 'It's just normal to us.' Problematic dynamics can exist no matter the age. 'People now don't know what grooming is and just use the term as synonymous with age gaps,' Rei said. To some extent, Rei sees the hubbub over age gaps as an overcorrection of the mores ushered in by the #MeToo movement. 'People overadjust and assume that any relationship out of the norm is abusive,' they said. 'In my experience, people who feel age gaps are problematic are also the same people who argue the internet is harmful and should be censored because they had a bad experience as a kid. Your experience isn't universal.' For Amelia, 24, actual age matters less than the stage of life you're in. She figures if you're a relatively accomplished 28-year-old dating an accomplished 40-year-old, what's the big deal? The word 'grooming' really only applies when an adult is introduced to a future partner when they're underage, Amelia said. She cited the relationship between Dane Cook and his wife as an 'egregious' example of a questionable age gap. (The now-52-year-old comedian met Kelsi Taylor at a game night he hosted when she was in her late teens.) 'Do I think it's possible for people like that to have a healthy and happy relationship? Sure,' Amelia said. 'But the older I get, my desire to talk to high schoolers grows slimmer and slimmer. I really can't put myself in the shoes of someone who would want to befriend a high schooler.' That said, Amelia thinks that some Gen Zers take their judgment too far. To her, the concern over age gaps seems like a weirdly 'paternalistic' brand of feminism, where women feel the need to protect women from men. 'It's similar to how Swifties treat Taylor Swift,' she said, referring to the now-34-year-old pop star. 'You have young women 'looking out for' a billionaire woman in her 30s. I'm a fan of Taylor Swift, but I don't think she needs protecting from Travis Kelce because Travis Kelce got in the face of his NFL coach during the Super Bowl.' The anti-age-gap sentiment held by many plays into the 'puriteen' narrative that's been inescapable lately. Online, there's a lot of hand-wringing over Gen Zers' seeming aversion to sex: Studies show that they're having less of it than earlier generations and that they don't want sex scenes in their movies. Though Amelia overall disagrees with age-gap critics ― she feels like their arguments rob women of their agency, she said ― she gets where those in her peer group are coming from. 'The majority of us had unsupervised internet access from a young age. We were in chatrooms, on Tumblr, and other various corners of the internet that we probably should not have been on at that age,' she said. 'It was easy for grown men on the internet to reach us if they wanted to.' If you've been oversexualized at a young age ― or seen others in your age bracket be oversexualized ― that experience is understandably going to shape how you perceive these kinds of things, Amelia said. But the reality is, there are likely just as many happy May-December unions as there are disappointing ones. 'Believe it or not, we often see more ― not less ― equity in these relationships,' Lehmiller noted. All of the Gen Zers we spoke to said that ultimately, two consenting adults can do whatever they want in their private lives, even if others find it off-putting. 'Men can like women that are younger and not be a creep,' Amelia said. 'He also can be a creep, but some random person with a Twitter cartoon avatar shouldn't necessarily be the judge of that!' I Fell In Love With A Man More Than Twice My Age. I Wasn't Prepared For What Marrying Him Would Mean. 6 Women On What It's Really Like To Date Much Older Men I'm 63. She's 22. Here's What Most People Get Wrong About Our Marriage.
The Guardian
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Taboo relationships, steamy affairs and delicious desserts: the best Australian books out in July
Nonfiction, Ultimo, $36.99 Relationships between university professors and their students often aren't explicitly against the rules – but they aren't quite right, either. For her second nonfiction book, Madison Griffiths spent a year interviewing four women who'd had relationships with their university teachers to hear how they feel about those romances now (spoiler alert: not good!) and explore the ethics around them. It's a personal topic for Griffiths: at age 21 she began dating her former uni tutor, a romance that, now aged 31, she has complicated feelings about. Don't expect linear narratives; instead Griffiths has produced academic and often poetic meditations on sex, power and desire. – Katie Cunningham Fiction, Allen & Unwin, $32.99 A summer in Athens? Check. Millennial malaise? Check. A steamy affair that upends everything? Check. Amy Taylor's second novel has all the hallmarks of popular contemporary fiction, imbued with her signature tenderness and intelligence. London couple Emma and Julian are at a crossroads, and welcome the younger Lena into their relationship. Her presence teases out some tricky questions, all while the stifling Greek heat reaches feverish, claustrophobic heights. Taylor mixes literary musings with juicy plot twists and plenty of interpersonal drama – this is a moreish reading experience, the type of book you'll want to gulp down in one breathless sitting. – Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen Fiction, Giramondo, $32.95 Raaza Jamshed's debut novel is short in length but layered with complex meaning. The narrative opens in death – literal and figurative – captured through the image of eucalyptus trees, which Jahan, the novel's protagonist, has been told will regenerate. But, despite her pleas, no signs of life emerge from the seeds that she has painstakingly cared for. This opening holds the promise of the novel as a whole – the deep poetry of the language, the complexity of the setting (under threat from bushfire), and the central themes of loss and regeneration. A powerful, promising new voice. – Bec Kavanagh Cookbook, Hardie Grant, $60 If you don't recognise Christopher Thé by name, you may recognise his famous creation: Black Star Pastry's strawberry watermelon cake, or 'Australia's most Instagrammed cake' as the New York Times called it in 2019. Thé sold Black Star Pastry six years ago, opening Sydney cafe Hearthe with a new focus on baking with native Australian ingredients. These 80 intricate recipes reflect his latest creations. There's saltbush scones with desert lime marmalade, Illawarra plum clafoutis, Geraldton wax cheesecake and 'flowering' wattleseed biscuits. Though there are easier projects, such as his 12-year-old daughter's choc chip biscuits, it's best suited to a confident baker. Those up to the challenge of making layered paperbark cake, with smoked chocolate ganache and blue gum salted caramel, will be rewarded with MasterChef-worthy desserts proudly rooted in Australian flavours. – Emma Joyce Fiction, Black Inc, $36.99 Moreno Giovannoni's The Immigrants is an intensely personal story following members of one Italian family living and working in Australia. After arriving from Tuscany in the mid-1950s, Ugo is determined to make the most of the plentiful work opportunities in agriculture. His wife, Morena, who is supposed to stay in Italy and wait for Ugo to return, sails to 'the colony' to be with her husband. The pair move to rural Victoria, grow tobacco, and are surrounded by a vibrant community of fellow immigrants. This book is written with such tenderness and clarity, you'll be instantly drawn into the suffering and joy of these lives. – Joseph Cummins Fiction, Ultimo, $34.99 Katherine Brabons' Cure explores the social aspects of illness in the family with reflective poise. Vera and her adolescent daughter Thea both experience chronic pain and fatigue. Vera has an ambivalent relationship to traditional medicines, turning to an online community for possible cures and symptom relief, while Thea retreats into the private world of her journal. In this gentle and unassuming narrative, the pair journey to Italy to seek an obscure man who promises to heal people of their illnesses – a trip Vera has taken before. Capturing the difficult intimacies between a mother and daughter, Cure questions the stories they tell about their bodies, wellness, healing and memory. – Isabella Gullifer-Laurie Fiction, Penguin, $34.99 Chloe Adams' debut novel draws on a seam of family history stretching back to the second world war and its brutal Pacific front. Twenty-nine-year-old Mary escapes looming spinsterhood and the banality of middle-class female life by enlisting as part of Australia's postwar operations in Japan. The novel opens in 1949 with Mary back home in Melbourne, pregnant but unmarried, then cuts to a year earlier as she arrives in Hiroshima prefecture. Adams' writing is assured and absorbing as she conjures this new world through Mary's eyes, and her interior life as illusions are eroded. Seventy-five pages in, it's looking promising. – Dee Jefferson Fiction, Allen & Unwin, $32.99 Your Friend and Mine is a sliding doors story in which Margot, a fortysomething restaurateur, is unexpectedly lifted out from her routine when a letter from a long-dead friend arrives. The letter from Tess, Margot's best friend 20 years prior, transports her to a time when their lives had seemed rich and full of potential. As a stipulation (or a provocation, perhaps) of her will, Tess invites Margot on a fully funded trip to the UK to meet her old friend's family, and to finish Tess's bucket list. Jessica Dettmann's third novel balances humour and pathos with ease, as Margot undertakes a journey to reconnect with her old friend, and herself. – BK
New York Times
26-06-2025
- New York Times
Live Updates: Sean Combs Used ‘Power, Violence and Fear' to Run Enterprise, Prosecutor Says
Prosecutors called 34 witnesses over seven weeks to testify about the conduct of Sean Combs in a trial focused on sex, power and wealth. The list included a retinue of Mr. Comb's former employees, investigators with access to years' worth of records and, most critically, two women who said they were compelled to taking part in drug-fueled sex marathons with male escorts. The testimony was presented in an effort to prove charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy; Mr. Combs pleaded not guilty. Here are some of the key witnesses for the prosecution. Casandra Ventura and 'Jane' The government's sex-trafficking case against Mr. Combs centers on his sexual relationships with two women: Casandra Ventura, a singer known as Cassie, and another former girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym Jane. Over a combined 10 days on the stand, the women told strikingly similar stories about Mr. Combs pressuring them into fulfilling his voyeuristic fantasies by having sex with male prostitutes in hotel rooms across the country and sometimes abroad. Mr. Combs watched, masturbated and sometimes filmed the encounters, which he called 'freak-offs' or 'hotel nights.' 'It was his fantasy,' Ms. Ventura testified. 'He was controlling the whole situation. He was directing it. He was doing the lighting. He was telling us where to be, what to say, how to act in the room.' The defense has argued that the women were willing participants in the sex nights, pointing to messages in which they conveyed enthusiasm for the events or took an active role in planning them. Both Ms. Ventura and Jane said they were initially open to the idea but that, over time, they were left feeling humiliated and used. They said Mr. Combs was 'dismissive' when they expressed unwillingness or reluctance. Ms. Ventura said Mr. Combs subjected her to domestic violence for years, said she continued to participate out of fear of his violent temper, as well as his past threats that he would release sex tapes of her and the escorts. Jane said she felt obligated to engage in the sex nights because Mr. Combs repeatedly brought the $10,000-a-month rent he paid for her. Once, she testified, after an explosive physical fight left her with welts, he demanded that she give another man oral sex despite her protests. 'I just felt sick,' she testified. 'I just felt like I wasn't even in my own body.' Witnesses to Mr. Combs's assaults on Cassie Domestic violence was a main topic of questioning by prosecutors as they sought to prove that Ms. Ventura was under threat throughout her 11-year, on-and-off relationship with Mr. Combs. Eight witnesses said they saw Mr. Combs physically abuse Ms. Ventura — including punching her, kicking her and pushing her to the ground — or said they witnessed the immediate aftermath of his attacks. One of the most important observers of that relationship was Deonte Nash, a stylist and friend of Ms. Ventura's, who testified that Ms. Ventura expressed reluctance to him about the 'freak-offs.' He was also present, he said, when Mr. Combs, in a rage, threatened over a decade ago to release her sex tapes on the internet. Ms. Ventura told him she was engaging in the sex with other men 'because Puff wanted her to,' Mr. Nash recalled, using a nickname for Mr. Combs. Two of those hired men were called to testify, recounting nights of sex with Ms. Ventura while Mr. Combs watched that ended in cash payments. One of the men, Daniel Phillip, said that during the time he spent with the couple, he witnessed two episodes of domestic abuse, including once when he heard what sounded like Ms. Ventura being slapped and yelling 'I'm sorry' in another room. 'Cassie came running into the living room and she literally jumped into my lap and she was shaking,' he testified, 'literally, like her whole entire body was shaking.' Seeking to prove a racketeering conspiracy Prosecutors called a succession of witnesses intended to establish that Mr. Combs's criminal behavior went beyond arranging sex between his girlfriends and prostitutes in hotel rooms — and that he did not act alone. A key narrative in the trial focused on accounts of the fallout from Mr. Combs's jealous rage in 2011 over Ms. Ventura's relationship with the rapper Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi. Capricorn Clark, a former employee of Mr. Combs, testified that after Mr. Combs learned of the relationship, he kidnapped her, showing up at her apartment with a gun and telling her 'get dressed, we're going to go kill' Mr. Mescudi. She said she waited in the car as Mr. Combs and a bodyguard entered Mr. Mescudi's home when he wasn't there. Mr. Mescudi, who also took the stand, testified that he believed Mr. Combs was responsible for someone torching his Porsche with a Molotov cocktail not long after the trespassing incident. Mr. Combs's lawyers have denied he was involved in the arson and have disputed that Ms. Clark's account amounts to kidnapping. A half dozen former assistants to Mr. Combs took the stand and described working for Mr. Combs as highly demanding and at times intimidating, though often motivating. Several recounted purchasing drugs for Mr. Combs and setting up hotel rooms with baby oil and lubricant for nights with his girlfriends. Two, including Ms. Clark, recalled being subjected to lie-detector tests to prove they weren't responsible for thefts. One former assistant testified under a pseudonym — 'Mia' — about having to endure sleep deprivation because of her job and violent outbursts from her boss. She recounted times when Mr. Combs threw a bowl of spaghetti and a computer because he was dissatisfied with her. She also testified that he forced himself on her sexually multiple times and she felt unable to say no, allegations that the defense has denied. 'I couldn't tell him 'no' about a sandwich,' Mia testified. 'I couldn't tell him 'no' about anything.'
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Age-Gap Celebrity Couples Who Met When One of Them Was a Child
Age-gap romances are not outside the norm in Hollywood, in fact, quite a few of the most well-known relationships in Hollywood have pretty major age gaps. Some are big, some are small, and some of them are so wildly problematic, that we have no idea how it went on for as long as it did. Now, It's true that you can find the love of your life at any time in your life, whether it be high school or at a local coffee shop; you just don't know. We love love, but what we don't love is when there's a relationship where there's clearly some sort of power dynamic at play. We've seen some disturbing relationships in Hollywood where an adult starts dating someone who's 16 or 17, and along with that, the other aspect people also need to discuss: when an adult celebrity met another celebrity when they were a literal child. One example is how Wilmer Valderrama and Demi Lovato met when she was 17 and he was 29. They dated a year later and were together for quite some time. And before that, Valderrama dated minors like Mandy Moore and Lindsay Lohan (but waited to make his relationship with Lohan public until she turned 18). There's also when Don Johnson met his future wife Melanie Griffith when she was 14 and 22, and truly the list goes on. Below, check out age-gap relationships in Hollywood where a couple met when one was a child, and the other was an adult. More from SheKnows Ellen DeGeneres' Talk Show Demeanor Toward Female Comedians Raises Eyebrows Best of SheKnows Everything to Know About Leonardo DiCaprio's 27-Year-Old GF Vittoria Ceretti A Look Back at Prince William's Sexiest Photos in Celebration of the Future King Amanda Bynes, & More Celebrities Who Joined OnlyFans Over the Years Demi Moore's first marriage was to Freddy Moore, with whom she was with for four years. While they got married when she was either 17 or 18 years old, they met when she was just 16, and he was nearing his thirties. Met: She was 16, he was 29. You may or may not have known this but Sonny Bono and Cher met at very different stages of life. They met when she was just 16 and he was 27. They met at a coffee shop, when Cher was singing backup for hits produced by Sonny's employer, per Distractify. Met: She was 16, he was 27. Celine Dion met René Angélil when she was 12 years old, and he was 38, when Angélil became Dion's manager. When they first met, he was allegedly brought to tears by her singing, and later, they married and were together until his death. Met: She was 12, he was 38 The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Demi Engemann confirmed that she met her future husband Bret Engemann when she was nine years old, and he was 25. Demi herself openly talked about this in a Feb 2023 TikTok video. She revealed that she first met Bret as a child through a family friend, saying, 'He was so much older than me. When I was 9 years old, he was married to his first wife and having babies.' She then added that she always had an 'innocent little girl crush' on her now-husband. Met: She was 9, he was 25 Prince Charles and Princess Diana were together from 1980 to 1992 and welcomed two sons, but didn't officially divorce until 1996. They got together when she was 19, and he was 31. However, they met when she was 16 years old, and he was around 29 when he went to her house to see her sister, per Biography. Remember when Joel Madden and Hilary Duff dated? Yknow, when she was 16 and he was 25? They dated for nearly three years until breaking it off in Nov 2006. During a 2005 appearance on The View, Duff said they met three months prior before dating, and kept their relationship secret because of their age gap, per Refinery29. Despite Mila Kunis being only 14, they still made her character, Jackie, frequently kiss Ashton Kutcher's character, Kelso, even though the actor was 20, on That 70's Show. She said he was her first kiss. They reconnected in 2012, when she was 28 and he was 34. They got married in 2015 and share two children together. Elizabeth Gillies and her husband Michael Corcoran met while she was starring in the show Victorious. He worked as a composer on the show, making songs like ' 5Fingaz to the Face,' 'L.A. Boyz,' and 'Freak the Freak Out,' per The List. While they started dating when she was 18 and he was 39, they met earlier. Corcoran worked on the show when it first aired in 2010, when he was around 37 or 28, and she was around 16 or 17. While the timeline is hazy, it is confirmed they met on the show, because in an interview with Vogue, Gillies said: 'I always had a crush on him. But I played it cool.' Leonardo DiCaprio and Camila Morrone started dating in 2017, when she was 20 and he was 43. However, according to W, they may have met much earlier. As many know, Morrone's former stepdad is Al Pacino, who is one of DiCaprio's best A-list buddies. Now, because of this, DiCaprio allegedly met Marrone when she was only 12, and he was in his 30s since they were 'old family friends.' As we said, the pair started dating back in 2017, causing a bit of controversy due to their 23-year age gap. However, after five years together, they called it quits two months after her 25th birthday. A couple people often forget about is Gigi Hadid and Joe Jonas, two A-listers who dated briefly in 2015. However, they met years prior. Per Business Insider, they met when she was 13, and he asked her out, when he was around 18 or 19. He allegedly asked her out, she said he did it 'at the Grammys when I was 13 years old.' 'He asked me to a baseball game, and I said no,' she added. 'I was so nervous; I literally didn't even know what it meant to hang out with a boy.' Get ready, because Wilmer Valderrama has done this a few times. Okay, so one couple you may have forgotten was Valderrama and Lindsay Lohan. They dated for six months back in 2004 after working on the set of That 70's Show. They were spotted together in May 2004 but didn't make their relationship public until she turned 18 years old in July 2004. But they definitely met when she was 17. Wilmer Valderrama and Mandy Moore started dating when he was 20 and she was 16 years old in 2000, but they actually met sometime prior on a photoshoot when she was 15, per People. They were together until 2002, and during their relationship, Valderrama claimed he took her virginity?! He said that in an interview with Howard Stern, and Moore later said it wasn't true. 'I love him and I still love him, and he's a very good friend and that's why I was so shocked by it because not only was it a fib, but it was so unlike him, it was so uncharacteristic,' she said. Wilmer Valderrama and Demi Lovato met when she was just 17 and he was 29, but they didn;t date until she turned 18. They dated on and off for six years, and officially called it quits in 2016. Lovato talked about when they first met via Mamas Latinas, saying, 'I was only 17, and so he was like, 'Get away from me.' After I had turned 18, we began dating. I think it was love at first sight and I don't really believe in that but I believe that it happened.' She later released a song called '29,' which was seemingly a jab at Valderrama, and the age he was when they started dating. Dane Cook and Kelsi Taylor have been together since 2017, when she was 18 and he 45. They recently got married, and many online sleuths believe there's more to their relationship timeline. Specifically, they think they met before Taylor was 18. According to an Instagram Q & A, via Us Weekly, the couple met when he hosted a game night at his house. Their friendship took a serious turn where they 'fell in like with each [other] and then upgraded to love.' Twitter users found photo evidence that they allegedly met when she was 17. Jerry Seinfeld and Shoshanna Lonstein dated from 1993 to 1997, and they started dating when she was 17 and he was 38. Per TheThings, they met at Central Park and she gave him her number after they flirted. He tried to claim they didn't start dating until she was 18, but either way, they definitely met when she was 17. Remember when the late Liam Payne and Cheryl dated, and welcomed a kid? They were 22 and 32, respectively when they got together….but they met years prior. They originally met in 2008, when he was auditioning for The X Factor, and he was 14. 1990s it-couple Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder had a pretty big age gap. They met when she was 17, and he was 25. They met in 1989 at the movie premiere of Great Balls of Fire, and apparently, when they locked eyes, Depp claimed it was love at first sight, saying, 'I knew then,' via Rolling Stone. They didn't start dating until a few months later, and were together until 1993. Rob Lowe and Winona Ryder were together in the mid-1980s. They later starred in the 1987 movie Square Dance and attended the Golden Globes together in 1988. She was around 14-15 when they met, and he was 21. Back in 2011, Harry Styles and Caroline Flack started dating, when he was 17 and she was 31. They dated for a few months until early 2012. Later, in 2015, she said she wouldn't apologize for their relationship, saying, per Washington Post, 'I'm not going to ever apologize for it because there was nothing at the time that was serious or bad and nobody was getting hurt.' Tyga and Kylie Jenner met earlier than people may have thought: in Nov 2011 at Kendall Jenner's Sweet 16 party. At the time, she was 14, and he was around 22 years old. They started dating in Sept 2014, a month after Kylie's 17th birthday party he attended. They were together, on and off until early 2017, per Billboard. In the early '70s, Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith met when he went over to her house, when he was 22 years old and she was 14. They briefly dated, then got together when she was 18, and married quickly after. Their marriage lasted six months. However, they remarried two years later, and welcomed their daughter Dakota Johnson. However, they divorced in 1996, per InStyle. Priscilla Presley was quite young when she met Elvis — 14 years old to Elvis' 24 years old. They met back in 1959, specifically at a party. While she claims nothing sexual happened until she was 18, there was definitely a romance, which she detailed in her memoir. They were together from 1959 to 1973, and welcomed a daughter together. Jasmine Pilchard-Gosnell was only 16 when she and Paul Walker started dating in 2006. They dated until his death in 2013. She was only around two years older than his own daughter. And per TheThings, he also dated Aubrianna Atwell, who was 16 when he was 28.
