As the famous saying goes, age ain’t nothing but a number. So, why do people keep judging the Olsen twins for dating older men? Mary-Kate married Olivier Sarkozy, a banker and the brother of ex-French President Nicolas Sarkozy. He is 47 and she is 30. Now, her sister, Ashley, has been spotted around New York City hanging out with 59-year-old artist George Condo. But seriously, who cares? They’re grown women and can date whichever grown men they please.
It’s totally true that those are some pretty big age gaps, and people aren’t always very nice about it. Page Six reported that onlookers spotted Ashley and Condo at Balthazar, a popular place to see and be seen in Soho. A source said, “It was obvious something was going on. It looked like she was dining with her grandpa, but they were holding hands and snuggling.”
People are total assholes, because it seems like the two women just like older men. And that’s OK. Back in 2014, Ashley dated director Bennett Miller, who is about 20 years older than her. Mary-Kate had the best response to the “why older men” question back in 2012. She told WSJ Magazine after marrying Sarkozy, “Everyone has an opinion. I find it’s better to focus on what’s in front of you and to keep putting one foot in front of the other.”
Neither Condo nor Sarkozy are exactly what I’d call lookers. But apparently they are fun. I mean, Sarkozy and MK were gloriously married in a private ceremony at their “residence,” where there were “bowls of cigarettes” places around the room. I know smoking is bad for you and all, but I would have loved to lounge around and eat and smoke all night. Sarkozy and Olsen obviously have a little thing going on between them.
Both women have been working since they were literally children. They have their own movie franchise that is probably still making them bank. They have their own fashion label. It makes sense that they can talk and connect to older dudes. It’s a big city, but when it comes to smart, thoughtful, men with proper business careers and credit lines in New York City, the pickings are pretty slim (sorry, gentlemen — they just are).
But it’s clear why it’s so surprising to people that the Olsens date older men — they’re young, beautiful, and glamorous and could probably date any guy they laid their eyes on. But they get to choose who that is, and it doesn’t have to be an equally young and handsome guy.
You can joke about “daddy issues,” but just about everyone has them as far as I can tell, so that isn’t necessarily a factor. Someone doesn’t have to be fucked up to want to date older dudes. You often can’t control who you’re attracted to, and that’s the beauty of romance — it just happens. Age doesn’t matter, and it’s certainly nothing to create judgements over.
Original by Karen Fratti @karenfratti
