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CNN Live At Daybreak
The 'Age Thing': Loving Couples
Aired June 13, 2003 - 06:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is time to talk Demi and her young, well, boyfriend. You know they're one of the hottest couples in Hollywood right now. Her young boyfriend supposedly is Ashton Kutcher. He's 25. Demi Moore is 40. Yes, the buzz about this couple is the "Age Thing."
Dr. Joyce Brothers live on the line with us this morning -- good morning.
DR. JOYCE BROTHERS, PSYCHOLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
And not only is it growing in numbers, the women from Hollywood have led the way, but it's happening everywhere around the country.
COSTELLO: Is it really?
BROTHERS: Because we are living longer, we're living more vigorous lives, people don't have to worry that the older partner will be -- has to be nursed and taken care of later on. In the same way that younger women are attracted to older men, older women now are attracting younger men because they are attractive, healthy, vigorous, vibrant and wealthy.
COSTELLO: I like that. I like those adjectives -- Dr. Joyce Brothers.
BROTHERS: Particularly the wealthy.
COSTELLO: Exactly. We've been soliciting e-mails on this subject all morning long. And a lot of them, like this one from, let's see, this one from Wayne, he says what's the problem? What's the big deal anyway?
BROTHERS: Wayne is absolutely right, it's not a big deal. Women now are important in the world, they have status and the very same that attracts a younger women to an older man, being able to deal with the world effectively and the person's ability to deal with that world is very attractive to the person. And it's -- the nice thing about the older women-younger man, it's not an exploitive kind of relationship. In the past, it used to be thought that the younger man was a gigolo after her money, but it is a helpful relationship. She helps him understand the world, puts him on the right track as well.
COSTELLO: Do you think that's really what attracts younger men to older women, because if it is, it's pretty depressing to me -- Dr. Brothers? BROTHERS: No, it isn't the only thing. It's -- the truth of the matter is that age is irrelevant now. What used to be old is now -- is now middle age. And so the important thing is what the person is like and not what the age of that individual.
COSTELLO: Understand. We're showing pictures of other couples who are kind of a May-December thing. Julianne Moore married a man who's 9 years older. Courtney Cox married that guy. He's 7 years older. I have to ask you the sex question, because in talking to a lot of people, this is always what they say, a women in her 40s is at her sexual peak. A man in his 20s is at his sexual peak.
BROTHERS: And so it makes a good mating arrangement.
COSTELLO: So that's true?
BROTHERS: Yes, they're absolutely right, it makes a wonderful mating arrangement. And people now are learning to reach out to each other as people, weighing whether these are the characteristics that we want in a mate or in a lover...
COSTELLO: Understand.
BROTHERS: ... and ignoring the age difference.
COSTELLO: OK, this from Donna (ph), and you know I have a question after this comment. She says I don't recommend dating them too young, they must be old enough to have most of the same life experiences such as mortgages, job, travel and puberty. So how young is too young? What's an age gap you shouldn't -- you should stay away from?
BROTHERS: As long as -- in any relationship, as long as the younger one is not in the teens, it has a good chance of working out.
COSTELLO: As long as the younger one is not in the teens.
BROTHERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: So a 40-year-old woman could date a guy who's...
BROTHERS: You don't want -- you don't want like...
COSTELLO: You don't want...
BROTHERS: You don't want to have to burp your...
COSTELLO: That's right, you don't want to be arrested either.
Thank you, Dr. Joyce Brothers, for joining us live on the phone, a lot of fun with you on DAYBREAK.
BROTHERS: Thank you, Carol, it's -- like to talk with you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 13, 2003 - 06:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is time to talk Demi and her young, well, boyfriend. You know they're one of the hottest couples in Hollywood right now. Her young boyfriend supposedly is Ashton Kutcher. He's 25. Demi Moore is 40. Yes, the buzz about this couple is the "Age Thing."
Dr. Joyce Brothers live on the line with us this morning -- good morning.
DR. JOYCE BROTHERS, PSYCHOLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
And not only is it growing in numbers, the women from Hollywood have led the way, but it's happening everywhere around the country.
COSTELLO: Is it really?
BROTHERS: Because we are living longer, we're living more vigorous lives, people don't have to worry that the older partner will be -- has to be nursed and taken care of later on. In the same way that younger women are attracted to older men, older women now are attracting younger men because they are attractive, healthy, vigorous, vibrant and wealthy.
COSTELLO: I like that. I like those adjectives -- Dr. Joyce Brothers.
BROTHERS: Particularly the wealthy.
COSTELLO: Exactly. We've been soliciting e-mails on this subject all morning long. And a lot of them, like this one from, let's see, this one from Wayne, he says what's the problem? What's the big deal anyway?
BROTHERS: Wayne is absolutely right, it's not a big deal. Women now are important in the world, they have status and the very same that attracts a younger women to an older man, being able to deal with the world effectively and the person's ability to deal with that world is very attractive to the person. And it's -- the nice thing about the older women-younger man, it's not an exploitive kind of relationship. In the past, it used to be thought that the younger man was a gigolo after her money, but it is a helpful relationship. She helps him understand the world, puts him on the right track as well.
COSTELLO: Do you think that's really what attracts younger men to older women, because if it is, it's pretty depressing to me -- Dr. Brothers? BROTHERS: No, it isn't the only thing. It's -- the truth of the matter is that age is irrelevant now. What used to be old is now -- is now middle age. And so the important thing is what the person is like and not what the age of that individual.
COSTELLO: Understand. We're showing pictures of other couples who are kind of a May-December thing. Julianne Moore married a man who's 9 years older. Courtney Cox married that guy. He's 7 years older. I have to ask you the sex question, because in talking to a lot of people, this is always what they say, a women in her 40s is at her sexual peak. A man in his 20s is at his sexual peak.
BROTHERS: And so it makes a good mating arrangement.
COSTELLO: So that's true?
BROTHERS: Yes, they're absolutely right, it makes a wonderful mating arrangement. And people now are learning to reach out to each other as people, weighing whether these are the characteristics that we want in a mate or in a lover...
COSTELLO: Understand.
BROTHERS: ... and ignoring the age difference.
COSTELLO: OK, this from Donna (ph), and you know I have a question after this comment. She says I don't recommend dating them too young, they must be old enough to have most of the same life experiences such as mortgages, job, travel and puberty. So how young is too young? What's an age gap you shouldn't -- you should stay away from?
BROTHERS: As long as -- in any relationship, as long as the younger one is not in the teens, it has a good chance of working out.
COSTELLO: As long as the younger one is not in the teens.
BROTHERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: So a 40-year-old woman could date a guy who's...
BROTHERS: You don't want -- you don't want like...
COSTELLO: You don't want...
BROTHERS: You don't want to have to burp your...
COSTELLO: That's right, you don't want to be arrested either.
Thank you, Dr. Joyce Brothers, for joining us live on the phone, a lot of fun with you on DAYBREAK.
BROTHERS: Thank you, Carol, it's -- like to talk with you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
