A May-December relationship is where there is a significant age gap between the two people. It is an old term. It refers to the younger person being in the “spring” of his or her life (May) and the older person is the “winter” of their life (December). The reference is becoming archaic since people are living longer, healthier, more productive lives.

Ron and I are probably more August-October. I’m nearing the end of Summer (maybe that’s why I’m having hot flashes) and he’s planning to hang out in Fall for as long as possible!

Currently the trend is to call relationships with a large age difference either an “age gap” relationship or one with significant “age disparity.”  Wikipedia (of couse if it’s in Wikipedia is must be true) posts a rule for determining if the age difference is socially acceptable:

The “half-your-age-plus-seven rule” is one rule of thumb defining a mathematical formula to judge whether the age difference in an intimate relationship is socially acceptable.

Divide the older person’s age by 2. Add 7 to the number you get. If the younger person’s age is greater than or equal the number you get – then (theoretically) the age difference is acceptable.

Example:

Older person is 60
Younger person is 39

60/2 = 30 + 7 = 37

39 (younger person’s age) is greater than or equal to 37 (number from formula).
The relationships passes the test.

Example:

Older person is 25
Younger person is 18

25/2 = 12.5 + 7 = 19.5

18 (younger person’s age) is less than 19.5 (number from calculation) .
The relationship fails the test.

With all that said, just because a relationship passes the forumla, doesn’t necessarily mean it will work. That’s why we are blogging on this subject! We’re here to help you figure out what will make your relationship successful.