The Most Successful Age Gap Relationships

Despite how far we've come as a society, eyebrow raising still results from any pairing where one partner is significantly older. "With relationships, there will always be people on the outside looking in. Maybe even more so when outsiders visually see the age difference," said licensed professional counselor Brandy Porche.

Per the 2014 Current Population Survey (via FiveThirtyEight), only about 8% of American heterosexual couples have an age gap of a decade or more, though the gap widens with same-sex couples.

According to PsychCentral, an age gap can impact a relationship in different ways. "The bigger the gap between partners, the more likely the relationship will struggle with phase-of-life related challenges," said licensed mental health counselor GinaMarie Guarino. "When there is a significant difference in age," added Porche, "life experiences can be vastly different."

Despite the research, many Hollywood couples have overcome the stigma. From Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones to George and Amal Clooney, here are some of the most successful age gap relationships.

Though they've experienced ups and downs, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones are the epitome of a successful age gap relationship after first meeting in 1998. "I looked at her, and I said, 'Catherine, I'm going to be the father of your children,'" Douglas said at a 2019 event of the night he met his wife at a French film festival (via The Hollywood Reporter). "The first time I met her!"

They married in 2000 after welcoming a son that year, followed by a daughter in 2003. Zeta-Jones is also stepmom to Cameron Douglas, Douglas' son from his previous marriage (via People).

Zeta-Jones credits honesty for their lasting marriage. "Both Michael and I have a very open relationship," she once shared with "Today." "When you have kids that didn't ask to be born into a world where [the marriage is] scrutinized or looked into, you've got to be open and honest." In 2016, Zeta-Jones told Good Housekeeping (via the Daily Mail), "You have to give it your best shot and not give up when the first problem arises, because that won't be the last," she said, alluding to Douglas' throat cancer and her bipolar disorder diagnoses and their subsequent 2013 separation before reconciling.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

In 2014, Jeff Goldblum married Emilie Livingston, a retired Canadian Olympic gymnast (via Us Weekly) after meeting at the gym. "I saw her from across a crowded room, and I marched up to her, entranced, and began some kind of conversation," the actor told Wired.

Goldblum, who's 31 years older than Livingston, became a first-time father in 2015 before welcoming another son in April 2017. Livingston shared a sweet photo of the family to Instagram. "We couldn't be happier!!!" she captioned the pic, referring to Goldblum as "our rock."

Goldblum, who previously was married to actresses Patricia Gaul and Geena Davis, has spoken about becoming a dad later in life, telling Us Weekly, "I feel right on schedule and I love our two boys. Everything seemed to happen perfectly. I appreciate it wildly." To Britain's iNews, he said, "I'm glad I waited. It feels great to do it right now, because all the things I'm considering are perfectly suited to the big questions and challenges of having kids, and what you want to expose them to."

Goldblum told Us that he and Livingston are "very focused" on their marriage and spend time together every night after putting the kids to bed. "We have nice people who help us and they allow us to go on a sweet date night here and there," he said.

Alec and Hilaria Baldwin are known for their ever-growing brood — seven kids, as of publication. When they married in 2012, she was 27; he was 53. She admitted on her podcast, "Witches Anonymous" (via People), that, before marriage, she was judgmental of couples with large age gaps and questioned their motives. "Now that I'm in that relationship and people will say those things about me regularly, I realize, what was this trained into my head?" she said. "Maybe their love looks different from you and from your love or what I thought love would be but it doesn't make it not valid."

Interestingly, Hilaria — who's also stepmom to Alec's daughter, Ireland Baldwin, from his first marriage to Kim Basinger — never planned on a big family; it just "kind of crept up" on her, she told PopSugar. "It was important to him to have kids soon, which I think was mostly because of our age difference," she said. She was content on waiting when she learned she was pregnant five months after they married and soon became pregnant twice more. "Once you get to three," she explained, "it's wild all the time, and we embraced the wildness and decided to try to have another baby."

Though they love their large family, she admitted it's not easy, saying, "You always feel like you're going to disappoint somebody."

Kevin Costner first met his wife, handbag designer Christine Baumgartner, who's nearly 20 years younger, on the golf course while filming his 1996 movie "Tin Cup." Though he was married at the time, they crossed paths again in 1998 and began dating (per People). However, the pair almost didn't work out when Baumgartner told the actor that she wanted to have kids of her own, something that was a dealbreaker for her if he didn't want the same, he confirmed to "Extra." Not wanting to lose her, the two married at his 160-acre ranch in Aspen, Colorado, in 2004.

According to People, they welcomed two sons and a daughter. Costner also has a son and two daughters from his first marriage to Cindy Silva and a son from a brief relationship following his divorce.

Costner said that experiencing quarantine with Baumgartner in 2020 only strengthened their relationship. "Our partnership has really come into focus about what we do for each other and how we deal with our family," he told People in 2020. He said he's "thankful for Christine as a partner," as he couldn't help the kids with schoolwork during the pandemic due to his lack of computer skills — just one way their age gap may benefit them.

Bruce Willis found love again with model-turned-children's philanthropist Emma Heming, younger by 23 years. "When we first met, I was surprised at how charming and how funny he was – and extremely handsome," Heming said in a joint interview with Willis for "People's List" (via People). Added Willis: "I was already in love with her." In 2019, Heming told Us Weekly that they have "a lot of respect for each other, which has really helped build a great foundation."

Per Us, Willis and Heming married in 2009 in Turks & Caicos, followed by a second legally-binding ceremony a week later, after first meeting in 2007 through their trainer. They have two daughters together, which makes five for Willis, who shares three grown daughters with ex-wife Demi Moore. In 2019, the couple renewed their vows for their 10th wedding anniversary, an event which included her three stepdaughters and Moore. "She welcomed me into her family like I welcomed her into ours," Heming explained to Us Weekly of the actress. "It was important for her to be there."

Ellen DeGeneres found her soulmate in Portia deRossi, her partner since 2004. "I'm so grateful for the love in my life," DeGeneres told People in 2016. "Not everybody finds that best friend."

DeGeneres, who is 15 years older than her wife (via a 2007 People story), first met deRossi in 2000. However, they didn't start dating until crossing paths again in 2004 at an awards show, after which deRossi became more open about her sexuality, and married in 2008 (via Us Weekly). 

The former talk show host said she's learned to never take anything for granted. She explained how the two regularly let each other know how much they appreciate one another, telling People in 2016, "Portia and I constantly say to each other, 'We are so lucky.' Sometimes it's lying in bed at night before I go to sleep, and I just say thank you to whatever, whoever is out there."

Actress Gabrielle Union and retired NBA player Dwayne Wade, who are nearly a decade apart, have been together since 2009 after first meeting in 2007 (via Yahoo!). However, Union admitted to Glamour that Wade didn't initially seem like her perfect match. "When I met Dwyane, his 'résumé' looked like crap: athlete, going through a divorce, nine years younger than me. None of that screamed, 'Let's have a lasting relationship,'" she explained. Eventually, she "put [her] preconceived notions to the side." "Turned out he'd been on his own since he was 15. He had wisdom that comes with facing an insane amount of adversity. He's sweet, funny, honest about his shortcomings," she described of Wade.

One key to their marital bliss? Regular compliments. "Dwyane generally gets up before I do ... and he's never left without kissing me and telling me he loves me," she told Glamour, adding that she is equally, if not more, complimentary.

Over the years, they've weathered their fair share of storms, including infertility and Wade's admission to fathering a child with another woman during their brief 2013 split (via USA Today). The couple worked through it, though, marrying in 2014 before welcoming a baby girl via surrogacy in 2018.