It has been believed that couples with an age difference of under five years are completely compatible. While many have criticized individuals who had a larger age gap!

However, is age gap really a factor? And do relationships between couples with high age disparities fare worse (or better) than those between couples with smaller age gaps?

We frequently pay attention to the age difference between a couple in discussions of relationships and marriages. When someone claims to have an age gap of 5 to 10 years or more, we make judgements.

Yet you can't deny the power of love! Love is not socially bound. We typically assume that in a relationship with an age difference, one partner won't be as mature as the other, leading to arguments between the two. But what we don't realize is that maturity is something that comes with life's experiences; it doesn't just appear on your 25th birthday. It could be your 20th year and you're as mature as a 28 year old person or you may never completely mature.

Here is how you can manage a relationship when there is an age gap between you and your life partner :

Make your expectations clear

It's important to understand what your partner expects from the relationship. This is true in every relationship, but it's especially crucial when there is an age gap of 5+ years.

Between a younger women and older man, women might be more concerned towards earning and financial stability whereas for the man, being a father may be more important.

Responsibilities

It is normal that an elder partner will eventually need healthcare and might no longer participate in some activities that you both used to do together.

In such situations, you must decide whether you are ready to take on additional home responsibilities or even give up some pastimes.

It's easy to agree getting married now, but will the case me same in 10, 20 years time? After all, marriage is about your whole life, about being there through thick and thin, not just a few happening years.

Accept your partner for who they are

Instead of treating your spouse like a "prodigy" you need to teach, mould, or shape, you must see them as an adult, capable of making decisions and always support them.

Also, nobody enjoys hearing criticism, especially when there is a significant age gap and presumed greater wisdom. Moreover, maturity cannot be measured solely by age.

Deal with doubts head-on

Avoid letting the age difference become a major talking point. Seek to come up with answers to any issues you may be having that are satisfactory to both of you by freely and frankly discussing your thoughts.

Don't treat this relationship any different 

Stop reminding yourself that you've got a huge age difference and that your partner won't understand you. 

The age gap has no positive or negative effects; it simply "is". So, if the age difference is not your main concern, then you shouldn't treat your relationship differently than any other relationship or stress on this fact.

With all the love, maturity and understanding, age gaps do not matter. For one couple, age gap could work in a different way than another couple, so it actually depends on what you think and feel.

We are not implying that you should swipe left on an individual you like the look of even though they are four, seven, or ten years older or younger than you. However, if you're finding it difficult to bond over mutual values in your relationship and you have a sizable age difference between you, you might want to evaluate how it would affect your long-term prospects.

We're also not saying it's easy, every relationship comes with its own set of challenges and a relationship with more age gap is certainly more challenging than other relationships. 

Whereas, let's not ignore the fact that there are many famous happy couples who have a significant age group between them, some being Shahid Kapoor & Mira Rajput , Priyanka Chopra & Nick Jonas. If you look around yourself too, you'll see your relatives, parents, grandparents might have an age gap.

After all "Age is just a number".

The popular saying "heart wants what the heart wants" couldn't be more true. We genuinely have no control over who we find ourselves in love with. Whether one is older or younger has no influence on love.

If you're someone who's looking for a life long relationship, download the UrbanMatch app and experience Ratio with Real People, Real Meet ups & Real Connections, because life is too short to wait for your match to respond.