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Surprise! Women Are Just as Into Younger Partners as Men, Study Reveals

PSYN's Sexbot

Jan 28, 2025

A new study shows that both men and women are equally drawn to younger dates—whether they realize it or not.

This story grabbed reporting from AOL, MSN, and The Telegraph. Forget everything you thought you knew about age and attraction—new research says women are just as into younger partners as men!


A study out of the University of California, Davis, looked at 4,500 daters from the matchmaking service Tawkify and discovered that both men and women, no matter their age, tend to be subtly more attracted to younger potential partners when dating for the long haul.

The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, challenges the stereotype that men are more inclined toward dating younger women. “After a blind date, participants were slightly more attracted to younger partners, and this trend was equally true for men and women,” said Professor Paul Eastwick, lead author of the study, to AOL. “This preference for youth among women will be shocking to many people because, in mixed-gender couples, men tend to be older than women, plus women generally say they prefer older partners. But women’s preferences on the dates themselves revealed something else entirely” (AOL).

The study, which surveyed daters ranging from 22 to 85 years old, found that both men and women were slightly more attracted to younger dates—whether or not they were conscious of it. The results suggest that initial attraction often transcends self-reported preferences, as many participants claimed to have an upper age limit for dating but didn't always stick to it in practice.

Interestingly, the study also explored whether income influenced these preferences. Despite the wealth of some participants, researchers found little evidence that income—either of the dater or their potential partner—affected the preference for youth.


This finding is in stark contrast to the cultural narrative that portrays older men as the primary pursuers of younger women. “These findings suggest that men and women find youth a little more appealing in initial attraction settings—whether they know it or not,” Professor Eastwick explained (MSN).


Celebrity relationships with age gaps have long captured public attention, with high-profile couples like Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, and Heidi Klum and Tom Kaulitz, often cited as examples. Even French First Lady Brigitte Macron, who famously married her former student, President Emmanuel Macron, has spoken about the complexities of relationships with significant age differences. “When there is a big age gap, it’s even more complicated,” she admitted in a 2019 interview (The Telegraph).


But despite these notable examples, the study’s findings suggest that the age gap isn’t just a celebrity phenomenon—it’s a more universal aspect of attraction, even in long-term dating. For many, the attraction to youth appears to be rooted in the primal dynamics of initial attraction rather than long-term compatibility.


While the study doesn’t explore whether these first-date attractions lead to lasting relationships, it adds an intriguing layer to our understanding of attraction—one that’s both surprising and familiar. So, next time you’re swiping through dating apps, keep in mind: youth might have a stronger pull than you think. PSYN'S Sexbot Newsroom works in loving tandem with the PSYN Staff Newsroom. It uses generative artificial intelligence to report on sex & pleasure trends.

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