Psychology Explains Why Younger Men Often Prefer Older Women


Relationships between younger men and older women are on the rise. Younger men can have different desires from women their age, so they are part of why older women attract younger men.

Wendy L. Patrick, Ph.D., says that some men prefer dating older women because they feel equal. Relationships like these are more common than most people think, and they’re also more successful. There are a few reasons why young men like older women.
Why Younger Men Often Prefer Older Women

Here are a few reasons why a younger man might prefer a more mature partner.

Older Women Have More Intellectual Ability

Men want a more profound connection where they can talk. Because older women are more mature and better at holding intellectual conversations, so younger men are attracted to them. According to anthropologist Helen Fisher, eighty-seven percent of men would date a more intelligent woman and more educated than them.

Women who know what they want attract men.

Older women have more life experience and know what they want out of life. Men like women who have meaningful and fulfilling goals are sure of themselves and know what they want. With a plan in life, a woman has more time to invest in a relationship, making women more attractive to men.


The older you are, the more experience you have

Women with more life experience have knowledge that younger women do not have. This can help mature men in their relationships. People tend to gravitate towards someone who gives them a realistic outlook on life and helps them grow intellectually. An article on Today.com interviewed young men about how they feel about older women and found that most acknowledged that “older women have more life experience, emotional stability, grounding, and can offer honesty and different perspectives.”

Young men can attain emotional maturity

Older women are more mature emotionally, too, in many ways. Older women will share their feelings with their partners, something men like. Older women can help younger men process and express their feelings.


Men Want Mature Behavior

A mature woman will know how to handle her emotions and behavior. The calming nature of older women is appealing to younger men looking for a more serious relationship. Most men are attracted to women who can behave maturely in relationships and life. It also helps them mature in their own lives as well.

Confident women appeal to men..

Most mature women can feel confident on their own, but some younger women need constant reassurance and attention. You can do anything with grace and maturity if you’re older. Men like it because older women know what they want and don’t play games with them. In a Today.com story, men said the attention of an older woman gave them more self-confidence and self-esteem.


Mutual respect is essential to both partners.

Younger men want a relationship where they feel respected and respect their partners. Older women are respected because they have life experience, are mature, and know they can learn a lot in the relationship. As Gleb Tsipurky, Ph.D., says, allowing each other privacy and not pushing the other person to do things they’d instead not do can make a relationship happier since it builds trust. It’s easy for men to respect an older woman once they realize she’s trustworthy.