May-December Marriage

A marriage in which one spouse is significantly older than the other spouse; the age gap being wide enough to risk social disapproval.

'Significantly' older is usually considered 11 years or more age difference, although the 'half plus 7 rule' may also be used; i.e. if the age of the younger individual is less than half the age of the older person, plus 7; e.g. a 50 year-old marrying someone 32 or younger (50/2 + 7).

"May" refers to the younger spouse in the spring of life, whilst "December" refers to the older spouse who is in the winter of life.

Examples of May-December relationships include:

• Woody Allen and Soon-Yi Previn (Soon-Yi is 35 years younger).
• Donald Trump and Melania Knauss (Melania is 28 years younger).
• Paul McCartney and now ex-wife Heather Mills (Heather is 26 years younger).
• Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones (Michael is 25 years older).
• Clint and Dina Eastwood (Dina is 25 years younger)
• Warren Beatty and Annette Bening (Annette is 21 years younger).
• Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher (Ashton is 15 years younger).
• Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins (Tim is 12 years younger).