Pippa Middleton's Age Gap With Her Husband Is A Bigger Relationship Red Flag Than It Seems

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Pippa Middleton's husband James Matthews is eight years older than her — a significant but acceptable age gap, and certainly not the biggest one when it comes to public figures. That being said, closer look at their relationship history reveals some potentially sketchy behavior on Matthews' part that should have served as a warning sign for Pippa early on. Per People, the couple was first linked in 2012, when she was about 29 and he was 37. They were engaged by July 2016 and married less than a year later, in May 2017, when Pippa was 33 and Matthews was 41. However, the Daily Mail has reported that Matthews had been pursuing Middleton for a decade before their relationship began, when they met in St. Barth's at a vacation spot frequented by both of their families.

Matthews reportedly waited for Pippa, then a university student, to finish her studies. He also used that time to grow his hedge fund and become financially worthy of the woman whose sister would soon become Catherine, Princess of Wales. When Pippa and James finally started dating in 2012, their age gap was rumored to be an issue for the couple, who broke up and dated other people before rekindling their romance in 2016. It seems like a sketchy foundation on which to build a marriage, but the couple appears to be living happily ever after with their three kids, minus some complaints by their Buckleberry Farm neighbors in Berkshire.

Pippa Middleton and James Matthews' start might have been unconventional, but in Middleton's own words, their marriage and courtship actually have some normal elements to them. In her second cookbook, 2016's "Heartfelt," she told readers that she won Matthews' love by pleasing his stomach, per an old adage. The dish that got the job done? Halibut. "It was a very special dinner for us," she wrote. "You roast the halibut and serve it with lentils. It's delicious. James loves it."

In an interview with the Daily Mail to promote the book, Middleton admitted that their love of adventure is the trait that bonds them more than any of their differences, age, or otherwise. "'We are both competitive. We have had many adventures together. We have a lot in common, and that helps. I don't think it would work with a couch potato," she said. That might be the understatement of the century when your sister is the Princess of Wales, but there's nothing overtly regal about craving an adventurous love story, even for couples who live a lavish life.