Is there a double standard in Hollywood when it comes to May-December romances?
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Congratulations are in order for Alec Baldwin and his glowing wife Hilaria. The newlyweds announced on Tuesday that they are expecting a baby this summer.
Baldwin will be a father for the second time at the sprightly age of 54. His wife will be a mother for the first time at the age of 28.
That is a 26 year age difference.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
May/December romances are quite common for celebrity couples, from Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones to Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris. Yet the gender roles rarely seem to reverse.
Hollywood has made a lot of advancements, but is it a double standard that men can be double the age of their significant others, while women like Demi Moore and Linda Hogan are the butt of jokes for dating younger men?
“It does seem a little bit more acceptable for men in Hollywood to date and marry much, much younger. However there was Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher. There was a huge age difference there," said Dorothy Cascerceri – Senior Editor at In Touch Weekly Magazine. "When J-Lo split up from Marc Anthony and started dating Casper Smart who’s much younger than her people couldn’t believe it. They were shocked. So there certainly is some sort of double standard when it comes to men in Hollywood.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
But some see some movement.
“The double standard was there like ten years ago but now it’s changing and evolving," said Stanley T. Host of SiriusXM’s The Morning Mash Up. "A woman is not disrespected if she goes into a place with a young hottie on her arm. Look at J-Lo. Men are kind of stupid and slow and women are more mature so it’s a good mix in my opinion.”
Although it may be fine to have a large age gap, things can get trickier when babies are involved.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
“Think about when the child is going to go to college. Think about the child is going to go to soccer games or whatever pushing what 77, 80?" Stanley T. said. "Is he gonna be around? That’s a little traumatic."
But Cascerceri says older celebs have the right to have kids at any age
“More power to them. They want another child, they want to give that to their wife, that’s probably another reason," she said. "And you know what, if that’s what they want to do, hopefully they’ll be the best dads.”