Women who date younger men are usually dubbed “cougars” while their male counterparts get away with it. And while there’s still a negative connotation attached to the term, women in Hollywood have long been unafraid to break convention.
Here are six women who don’t mind dating a younger man, and whatever the public has to say about it:
Britney Spears and Sam Asghari
Image: Screen grab via Instagram/@britneyspears
Age gap: 13 years
Pop singer Britney Spears hasn’t always been lucky with love: she once had a marriage annulled within 55 hours. Now, she’s going strong with 22-year-old model Asghari whom she met in 2016 while filming her “Slumber Party” music video. Spears has two children with ex-husband Kevin Federline.
Madonna and Kevin Sampaio
Image: Screen grab via Instagram/@madonna and @kevinsampaiotwin
Age gap: 27 years
Queen of Pop Madonna, 58, has long dated younger men, including ex-husband Guy Ritchie, ten years her junior, and her last ex Aboubakar Soumahoro, 32 years younger.
Her latest beau is model Kevin Sampaio, who at 31 is 27 years younger than the singer. Sampaio was in her music video for “Bitch I’m Madonna” where they shared a kiss. The pair have reportedly been dating for the past year.
Liam Payne and Cheryl Cole
Image: Screen grab via Instagram/@liampayne
Age gap: 10 years
The 23-year-old former One Direction-er Liam Payne has been serious with singer and X Factor judge Cheryl since 2016. The couple has a son, born in March 2017. Cheryl, 33, has two previous marriages.
Shakira and Gerard Piqué
Image: Screen grab via Instagram/@shakira
Age gap: 10 years
Singer Shakira, 40, and Spanish football player Gerard Piqué also met at the making of a music video for the World Cup last 2010. The couple initially kept their relationship under wraps but has since been steady. They have two sons.
Kourtney Kardashian and Younes Bendjima
Image: Screen grab via Instagram/@kourtneykardash and @younesbendjima
Age gap: 14 years
The eldest Kardashian sister hasn’t made any public statement about Algerian model Younes Bendjima, but the two were caught by paparazzi in Cannes in May this year, and then in Saint-Tropez during the Fourth of July weekend.
The 38-year-old ended her relationship with husband Scott Disick, 34, who cheated on her multiple times. The pair have three children, Mason, 7, Penelope, 4, and Reign, 2.
Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden
Image: Screen grab via Instagram/@benjaminmadden
Age gap: seven years
The “Charlie’s Angels” actress, 44, dated the Good Charlotte band member Benji Madden in 2014. The pair had a whirlwind relationship and were married in 2015 at their Beverly Hills home. Diaz has been working on health and wellness projects while Madden is a coach at “The Voice Australia”.
“We’re totally two peas in a pod. We’re both just weird enough for each other,” Diaz told USA Today last June. JB
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