My mate thinks I’m some sort of pervert because I like younger women

DEAR DEIDRE: I HAVE always been attracted to younger women but now I am worried there’s something wrong with me.

I am 36 and tend to go for women in their mid to late twenties.

I never questioned it before, particularly as my parents have a 12-year age gap. But then a friend pulled me up on my “type”.

I think it started after I went on a few bad dates with women my age.

They all mentioned how they were ready to settle down and hoped to marry and have kids in the next few years.

I’m not ready for that yet. I still want to go out, have fun, maybe travel a bit.

Last week, one of my mates asked if we could go for a drink.

That evening, he told me he was worried about me.

It sounded like he thought I was some sort of predator and needed help controlling my “urges”.

DEIDRE SAYS: I always say that relationships with a large age gap can work as long as you are at the same stage in life.

You said it yourself: You are not ready for marriage or a family just yet and these younger women probably are not either.

My support pack Age Gaps – Do They Matter? explains in more detail.