"My Teenage Daughter Is Dating A 50-Year-Old And I Don't Know What To Do"

A reader shares how she's coping with her daughter's unusual relationship and why she's wary of the huge age gap between her teen and her partner of choice.

"Over the Christmas holidays my 18-year-old daughter, Claire, brought her boyfriend home to meet her father and I for the first time.

She'd already told us that she'd been dating him for five months, was 50 years old and working in a local restaurant. She also revealed he's unmarried, has no kids, and is a non-practising Christian.

Based on this information we knew straight away that these two were not together for 'the money', given his job and where he lives. Claire said she liked him because he was gentle, funny and they had similar tastes in music.

The meal went OK — even pleasant. We didn't act judgmental, but still, I couldn't stop thinking about the age gap. He's 33 years older than her and four years older than her dad!

Later, Claire told us this man is her soulmate. She wants to marry him in two years when she graduates from university, and she wants to have his kids despite what anyone else thinks — including us, her parents."

Whether its at 18-years-old or even older, it’s a well-established fact that women are generally attracted to older men. Here's are some ways to deal with a teenager who wants to start dating, no matter what age: