Hollywood’s biggest age-gap relationships

Tinseltown’s elite have a knack for defying convention, and nowhere is that more evident than in the surprising age gaps that define some of the industry’s most talked-about couples. Michael Douglas, for example, has 25 years on Catherine Zeta-Jones — he was 54 years old and she was 29 when they first met. Then there’s David Foster and Katherine McPhee – who have 34 years between them.

Many of these relationships have sparked fascination — and even a touch of controversy — proving that love doesn’t always play by the rules of convention. Many of the star couples have defended their age gaps as not being an issue at all. If anything, younger singletons should have hope that their George Clooney could be just around the corner…

Here it goes — judgment-free zone — we explore some of Hollywood’s biggest age-gap relationships, from controversial beginnings to fairy-tale endings, and how they manage public perception of their love in the spotlight.

It was a slow-burn relationship and the pair were friends for many years before they became romantically linked. David, now 75, even played a significant role at Katharine’s wedding to Nick Cokas. He performed at the wedding as a guest, accompanying Katharine as she sang ‘Unforgettable’ by Nat King Cole.

Katharine’s divorce was finalised in 2016 and a year later, she began dating David. But she had doubts about the romance. “It took me a while to kind of come around to really want to have a real, serious relationship (with David) because I was very concerned with what people would think,” she said during an appearance on Dr.Berlin’s Informed Pregnancy Podcast.

The 35-year age gap hung over the couple, but they seemed to tune out any criticism. “I totally get the judgment initially, but things are never as they appear, things are never exactly as they appear and I’m in love with our love story and that’s all that matters,” said Katharine in the same interview.

Katharine, now 40, is David’s fifth wife and the pair share a son, Rennie. She told Health of their long past: “I’ve known him since I was 21 years old, you know? He produced my first single. So he’s been really good to me. People can say whatever they want.”

Business executive and talent manager Corey Gamble had to earn his place in the Kardashian clan after not being initially accepted by the famous family when he began dating Kris Jenner.

Corey, who met Kris at a party following her split from Caitlin Jenner, is 25 years her junior. On an episode of KUWTK, the daughters expressed their initial concerns about the age gap calling it “creepy.”

Kim thought her mum was moving too fast with the relationship: “I’m worried about mom a little bit. She doesn’t listen to me when I’m like, ‘You know, you should really take it slow,’” she said on the show. “I just hope that my mom really thinks things through because I don’t want her to rush into anything.”

Kris, 69, and Corey, 44, proved everyone wrong and are still going strong a decade later. Kris did admit on an episode of KUWTK that she struggled with the age difference at the start of the relationship, however: “I used to say to Corey all the time when I first started dating him, like ‘why do you want to date somebody who is older than you? I didn’t get the age gap, and then he taught me that age is just a number.”

Now the Kardashian tide has turned and Corey has been firmly welcomed into the family. Kris’ youngest child Kylie shared on the show: “I love Corey. I think that he’s just an amazing person, I think he treats my mom amazing, and he’s just helped me navigate through life, and I really appreciate his advice. He’s just always been a good, good guy.”

The supermodel, who shares six children with her ex-partner Seal, told InStyle she ignored the judgement: “My boyfriend is many years younger than me, and lots of people are questioning that and asking about it. That’s really the only time when age seems to be shoved in my face and I have to give an answer for it.”

Talking to Glamour Germany she said: “I’m 50 and no longer 20. I’m not a young girl who hasn’t experienced anything yet or has no idea about life. Time won’t stand still for me, and Tom will never catch up with me. I’ll always be 16 years older, and I’m aware of that.”

When Priyanka met her husband-to-be, she didn’t immediately fall for the Jonas Brother charm.

The future power couple met at the 2017 Vanity Fair party, where they hit things off. But Priyanka was ten years older than Nick and doubted whether the Jonas boy would be up for a more serious relationship.

In an interview for Armchair Expert Podcast, Priyanka, now 42, explained her hesitance to go on a date: “I was at the end of my last long relationship before Nick. I didn’t want to engage as much at the time. I was also like 35, and Nick was 25. I really put a stop to it in a way because I judged the book by its cover.”

Nick, now 32, proved her wrong. He even got the blessing of his mother-in-law Madhu Chopra to marry her daughter. The mum was happy for the pair and told The Indian Express that the 10-year gap was not an issue for her: “The man and woman are good; They both care for each other. That is what matters.”

One of Hollywood’s most ellegible bachelors met his wife later on in his life — George was 53 at the time of their star-studded 2014 Venice wedding. But far from being a bad thing, he says his maturity helps with a peaceful home life for the couple, who share seven-year-old twins Ella and Alexander.

George told E! News: “We agree on most things. When you’re 61, as you get older, you’re kind of looking at things a little differently.”

He says he tends to focus less on the trivial aspects of life with his wife to keep the peace: “Amal wants to paint the wall yellow, and if I was younger, I feel like that’s a stupid color. And now you just go, ‘I don’t care. Who cares if a wall’s yellow?”

For her part Amal — now 46 — has opened up about falling in love to Vogue, saying: “It felt like the most natural thing in the world. Before that experience, I always hoped there could be love that was overwhelming and didn’t require any weighing or decision-making.

“I was 35 when I met him. It wasn’t obvious that it was going to happen to me. And I wasn’t willing or excited about the idea of getting married or having a family in the absence of that.”

Many lasting love stories have an unsure start. After briefly meeting at a concert in 2001, Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres bumped into each other several times over the next few years — but it took some time for them to confess their attraction for each other.

“[I knew she was the one for me] when I first laid eyes on her,” Portia said during an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2009. “But it took me three years to actually tell her how I felt about her because I was on Ally McBeal at the time and I was not living as an openly gay person. I was closeted and very, very afraid that if I talked about being gay, it would be the end of my career. So, I wasn’t about to date the most famous lesbian in the world.”

The duo crossed paths again at a photoshoot in 2004 but they were both in long-term relationships, Ellen with photographer Alexandra Hedison and Portiai with singer Francesca Gregorini. After the pair ended their previous relationships, they began dating.

“It’s the first time that I’ve known in every cell of my being that I’m with somebody for the rest of my life,” Ellen told People, adding that the start of the relationship was tricky. “She had a girlfriend and I had a girlfriend, but it wasn’t like, ‘Oh, we’re going to have an affair.’ We were just supposed to be together…It was a tough decision. I was physically getting sick because I was trying not to say anything. So I told Alex and she told Francesca. It was really hard to uproot everything.”

They’ve recently celebrated their 24th wedding anniversary, but Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones wasn’t a love-at-first-sight situation.

On the Jonathan Ross Show he recalled trying to woo the actress: “I met her in the bar and was a total gentleman.” He asked Catherine: “By chance do you want to come back and have a nightcap? You know, I’m going to be the father of your children.”

In response, Michael, now 80, said his future wife curtly replied: “I’ve heard a lot about you, and I’ve seen a lot about you, and I think it’s time that I say goodnight.” Although first taken aback by his confidence, Catherine said she was drawn to his humour and charm and his charismatic personality, and the pair began dating. The stars married in 2000 and went on to have two children Dylan and Carys.

And what about their 25-year age gap? Catherine, 55, says it’s not really something that she is ever conscious of in their marriage. She told The Telegraph: “We’re just very good with one another, we respect each other, and I never really feel that he’s 25 years older than me.”

Ryan told SiriusXM “That was the most awkward date for the respective parties because we were just fireworks coming across.” He continued: “It was weird at first, but we were buddies for a long time. I think it’s the best way to have a relationship, to start as friends.”

The 10-year age gap is not an issue and Blake says the couple — who share kids James, Inez, Betty, and Olin — are inseparable. She told Vogue: “Everything we do in life we do together. If I’m working on a movie, he helps me with my character; I do the same with him. Picking out a coffee table. What we’re going to eat. He’s a beautiful writer — he’s written a lot of stuff for us.”

The 29-year age gap between handsome Hollywood star Brad Pitt and jewellery designer Inés de Ramon clearly isn’t an issue. Although there are nearly three decades between them their relationship has bloomed into something serious. The pair have made several loved-up red carpet appearances and according to People, Inés has moved into Brad’s home.

The couple started dating in late 2022, when Ines was 29 years old and Brad was 58. It’s easy to imagine how Brad would be fascinated by Inés’s talents and career — her professional life is a world away from the movie sets and award ceremonies that are Brad’s constant in life. She’s also multilingual, fluent in English, Spanish, French, Italian and German.

The couple do have divorce in common. Ines was married to Paul Wesley, who played Stefan Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries, but the pair split amicably in 2022, three years after their wedding.

Beyoncé met Jay-Z in the late 90s when she was 18 and he was already an established rapper and businessman at 29. They worked on the song ‘03 Bonnie & Clyde’ together in 2002, and the song’s romantic theme sparked rumours they were more than just collaborators.

The pair are now worth an estimated combined net worth of $2.6 billion and share three children: Blue, and twins Rumi and Sir.

Love was found in an unlikely place when Harrison and Calista crossed paths at the Golden Globes in 2002.

At the time, Harrison was 60 years old, had four sons and was in the middle of divorcing his first wife, so love wasn’t on the brain. However, he did go on to marry Calista (making it his third marriage) a few years later.

Part of why their marriage is strong is Harrison’s sweet bond to Calista’s adopted son, Liam- whom she adopted after the pair met. Opening up to Parade, Harrison said: “It’s a wonderful opportunity to be part of a child’s growing up, which is always an endless springtime. You see the blossoming and the growing and the nurturing and the payoff. Being a parent made me just a bit less self-centered.”

The actor, 82, who has four sons from his previous marriage, praised his wife’s parenting: “Calista’s a mother by choice—she adopted Liam before we met, as a single parent, which is an awesome responsibility to take. She’s devoted herself to Liam and has done a really wonderful job raising him. I’m happy to now have a part of the job.”

Even though Calista, 60, is younger, she feels like the older one in the relationship. She told HELLO!: “Sometimes I even say, ‘Wow, I keep forgetting that he’s 22 years older than me.’ It doesn’t factor into our relationship at all. I like the way he looks first thing in the morning. It’s not handsome, it’s more cute. He looks like a little boy.”’

Like any marriage, she went on to joke to HELLO! that the pair have needed to “work” on their relationship at times. So despite the age gap not causing momnumental issues, she said that “they’ve had their ups and downs like everyone else.”