Flirty at eighty

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Actor Alec Baldwin poses with wife Hilaria Thomas

Seventy-six-year old, Queen’s Counsel Anthony Arlidge has created an online uproar with his much younger girlfriend Heather Lockwood. The couple are a sight to behold every time they appear in the vicinity of the Inns of Court in London. Silver-head Anthony is the latest to join the ‘sexy at 70’ bandwagon of men who don’t seem to be embarrassed flaunting their young girlfriends.

A few months ago it was Alec Baldwin who made news by tying the knot to his 27-year-old yoga instructor girlfriend Hilaria Thomas. Woody Allen, Doug Anthony Hutchinson and Rod Stewart are the seniors in this league of elder men dating younger women. Whether the world approves it or not, these men definitely seem to be enjoying their ‘new status’ in life.
Ask the younger men and they seem okay with the senior citizens’ antics. “Women don’t age as men do. Men are looking for excitement, whatever the age, while younger women feel more secure with older men. It is obvious the oldies want to bring back the fun in their lives,” says model Acquin Paes. A teenager or a sexy siren in her early 20s, PYTs are much in demand with the good old men! “It’s all about compatibility, if it works for them its fine. Age really doesn’t matter,” says director Adeeb Rais.
Only compatibility is not what the older boys look for. Flaunting their latest possession is a style statement for many. “I think once you are up there, it is cool to have someone younger by your side. Obviously you feel young and feel like showing-off what you posses,” says comedian Sundeep Rao.
Taking a plunge at the ‘settled’ age is a way to bring back the zest in life. Bridging the age-gap becomes all the more adventurous. But the younger lot is still a bit flummoxed. “I am a little stumped and haven’t really thought about it deeply. Sexual nature of relationship is what really attracts opposites. Older men fancy young women because they are more exciting. With enough money and a younger partner a man definitely feels a sense of power,” says actor Gulshan Devaiah.
But what about us — the Indians? And most men unanimously agree that it isn’t a new phenomenon. “Our forefathers followed the system of marrying someone much younger, so it isn’t something new,” says Adeeb. Whether people approve or not, older men seem to be basking in the limelight.