I am 62 years old my wife is 21 in July, I am a very happy lucky man!!!

We have been living together for three and a half years and married for two years. Could this be a world record?

Keith McBride, Doncaster, UK

All this bashing? if the chemistry is right it dose not matter . i
There is a trade off in any relationship. I do not care which way you go. For example, ( for the same money )
it sorta like buying a car sometime people buy an older one in
good shape that was a luxury car in it s day or buy a new one the is a economy car there is a trade off . I have done both. it come down to chemistry. you all know there is a hot older or younger person you like?

rich, houston, texas

i would say that younger men older woman relationships are soaring. all the women in hollywood have younger men and its not so novel anymore. who needs a older male anyway?
younger ones seems to be nicer, more accomodating, cuter/hot, take better care of themselves, and better between the sheets from my experience. they are a joy and wonder.
i have my theroies about men born before 1967, most of these are the ones who have to have younger woman. its a status symbol and it strokes thier medievil ego. they use these situations to feel validated because they have been left behind in other ways. the whole onset of femism ruined thier world of control. younger women will usually be quiet and controlled. again i also see this same sentiment in the idea of dating those out of your race and those from foriegn lands. IT SCREAMS CONTROL AND USEAGE. luckily the only women that fall for that sort of arragement are usually desperate for any male who has a paycheck and better lifestyl

ruth, clearwater, florida

In my experience women fancy younger men far more than older men, young men seem to be attractive to women as young women are to men. I'd always thought that it is just more culturally normal for older men to go with younger women - left over from the days when women weren't financially independent and tended to go for older wealthier men. I'm pretty sure things are changing now, and know of an awful lot of women with younger men. I'd take a guess that the number of older women with younger men now would have been unheard of say 100 years ago. Could another possible explanation for the numbers of children born be that women who go for younger men may tend to be types that don't care so much for convention and/or tend to be outgoing types who go for what they want (a cuter younger man) and these types may also be the types who have successful careers, busy lives and no time/wish for many children.

sophie, london,

I think they're naive to think it's something 'scientific' about number of years difference. Yes it probably is to do with natural selection, but basically women are more physcially attractive the younger they are, and women prefer men with money, which tends to come with age. The reason why the average gap isn't bigger is probably more to do with social stigma, which is slowly weakening.

James, York, UK

I wonder if there is a correlation between those that were annoyed at this article and those that have younger male partners?

James, London,

What a rediculous conclusion. Most people do not continue precreating until they are incapable, they stop when they have enough children.

On that basis the statistics and conlusions from the sudy are baseless.

c.h.goodwin, skipton, North Yorkshire

Half your age plus 7...

...I have heard this as an adage for the 'perfect partnership' for some time.

You are 40, she s 27

You are 20, she is 17

You are 60, she is 37

You are 30, she is 22

You are 16, she is 15

You are 100, she s 57

...works for me...except that I am happily married to a girl just a year my junior...

John Bownas, London,

This is total rubbish. Sure, we all find somewhat younger looking women more attractive, but to say that a couple of years matters is plain ridiculous. I do think attractiveness and love is dependent on a whole multitude of factors - your article massively overstates the importance of one of these factors. I know of many happy marriages that have stood the test of time where the woman is a couple of years older (and often looks a couple of years younger). Don't forget that the man who chases the girl twenty years younger is generally the kind of insincere player that will drop her 5 years later for an even younger plaything (that is what he is looking for after all) and so those kind of alliances do not stand the test of time.
It's also really irksome to see the Times devote so many column inches these days to this kind of drivel. Yummy mummy stories.....should I flirt with my ex....both featuring alongside this gem on your front webpage today. It's not Heat magazine. Broadsheet?????

Chloe Chisholme, London,

"Men are most reproductively successful with a partner who is six years younger than they are, while women have most children if they choose a father who is four years older, a study in Austria has shown. "

Is this not somewhat contradictory?

Plus, it seems ridiculous to include a recently divorced couple in the form of Britney Spears and Kevin Federline in your list. That one worked out well then...

Bianca Summons, Maidenhead,

Another example of academic time wasting in the publish-or-perish world. Trying to concoct non-existing connections, blurring the line separating cause and effect, reaching obvious and inherently useless conclusions.

At least the paper "why toast always land buttered side down" makes you think (well for a few precious seconds anyway)

Vic, london,

I take it your having a laugh Mia

Ally, Edinburgh,

"One of Britain’s most successful and famously fertile marriages falls squarely in the middle of this age range. The Queen, 81, is four years and ten months younger than the Duke of Edinburgh, and they have four children – more than double the British average."

More than double the average in 2007 - but they were very close to the average (between 3 and 4) for post-war Britain.... and let's not forget... they did have the bedrooms for any new arrivals! ;-)

Paolo Bagarino, Roma, Italy

It is fatuous to include Dodi Fayed and Diana, Princess of Wales in an article relating to the number of children produced by couples with a given age difference.

Daniel E, Frankfurt, Germany

Wahey - I can finally justify a younger girlfriend. The article doesn't mention anything about cousins however....

Alexander Scott, London,

I hope Mia considers her views on evolution the next time she is offered medication fo an ailment that has been developed based evolutionary theory. I am assuming that since it does not apply to humans she would outright reject the treatment, and carry on healing herself.

David Fleming, Cork, Ireland

So if a woman is in her prime at 29/30 & she mates with a male of 25 this says it will not be as successful as it would be the other way around ? or a woman 35 & a male 30 ?
What nonsesnse this is .
Women fancy younger men just as often as men fancy younger women, the difference is , women control themselves more & until now it has never been ' socially acceptable ' for the woman to be older.
Thank god this is changing, men have had it all their own way for far too long, they are beginning to see what it's like to be ditched for a younger model.

Maggie Millington, Brittany , France

Not withstanding Mia's rant, historically, it took a man several years to become established in his job or profession to be able to afford a wife and children. Women would choose from men so established to be able to provide financially for her and their future children. Nothing mysterious about that.

Of course there are exceptions: Couples who are/were at university together so the need for the man to establish himself financially is reduced or eliminated and second marriages [or more] with a younger wife who wants childlren.

Jim, Roscoe, USA

What utter nonsense!! When young girls go for some old hag like Hefner, it is just deceit. l can understand them not wanting to be with him alone, yuks!! They are only interested in the easy life selling their bodies and souls for the "rewards" of material things. Of course they are not jealous, why would they be? And grandfathers molesting their young grandaughters or worse still grandsons, yes that is evilution. NO, if evolution is true, we would not have all the chaos in the world. We will be like the animals, doing what is natural. Mothers would not sell their children to prostitution, they would be extremely protective like the magpies, plovers to name a few. The fact that humans do repulsive things even to their own children is a clear idication that evolution does not apply to the human race and that these are the evidences of a dark force in our world. lf evolution is true, fools will not be into drugs that will kill them or other unhealty pursuits

Mia , Brisbane, Australia