Entertainment
20 Of The Creepiest Fictional Couple Age Gaps In Movie/TV History
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Freeform
One of the most common clichés that we've grown tired of hearing is that "age is nothing but a number." You know what? We couldn't disagree more. And still, it seems like a lot of directors and filmmakers are buying into that weird belief. Ages really are just "numbers," because they've made a habit of showing unsettling age gaps between romantic couples. But you know what's really creepy? When the age disparity is over two decades or more. Or even worse, when the age difference between a couple is so huge that one person could be mistaken for their partner's parent.
Of course, we're not here to get all judgmental about people's relationships. But you've got to admit that some of these pairings are awkward, inappropriate, and extremely problematic. Sure, we can understand if the age gap is small. But if, for instance, a teenager who's barely legal dates a man who's old enough to be her grandfather, it's just too disturbing to ignore. Check out some of the creepiest fictional couple age gaps in movie and TV history.
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ABRAHAM AND ROSITA FROM THE WALKING DEAD
AMC
It feels like we should cut these two some slack, considering that most of the population was already killed by zombies. Abraham was in his late 40s while Rosita was most likely in her late 20s. They had a solid connection from the beginning, but things changed after Abraham got physically violent with her. They did eventually resolve their issues, but this didn't stop Abraham from leaving Rosita. As for why, he told her: "When I first met you, I thought you were the last woman on earth. You're not." Um...Ouch.
But even if they really were the last two people on the planet, we still would've found their relationship a bit creepy.
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DAENERYS TARGARYEN AND KHAL DROGO FROM GAME OF THRONES
HBO
On the show, when Daenerys is 15, she gets married off to a man who's possibly in his late 20s or early 30s. But we should note that in the books, Daenerys was even younger. She married Drogo at the mere age of 13. But the author, George R. R. Martin, agreed to increase her age because he'd made her (and a few of his other characters) far too young. Still, we find it extremely disturbing that a fifteen-year-old child was forced into marriage with a grown man (who, but the way, sexually assaulted her on their "honeymoon").
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SANSA STARK AND PETYR BAELISH FROM GAME OF THRONES
HBO
Petyr, aka Littlefinger, essentially pulled a Jacob Black and fell for the daughter of the woman he thought he was in love with. His obsession with Catelyn, a girl he loved since he was a young boy, was transferred to her own daughter, Sansa. This meant she was young enough to be his daughter, too, but still, he grew attracted to her because she reminded him of a younger Catelyn. This was what drove Petyr to kiss her, and, weirdly enough, Sansa kissed him back. That is just gross on so many levels. But at least this little romance didn't last for long.
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HARRY AND MARIN FROM SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE
Columbia Pictures
There's a saying that art imitates life, and Jack Nicholson is pretty much the perfect example of this. In real life, he dated Lara Flynn Boyle, who's over three decades younger than him. And in the film, his character Harry actually has a thing for younger women. Harry pursues a relationship with a woman named Marin, who's in her 30s, but then he eventually falls for her mother. This is what we call the definition of awkward.
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RHONDA AND ROMAN FROM BIG LOVE
HBO
On the HBO drama, Rhonda was only 15 years old when she got engaged to Roman, a polygamist and leader of the Juniper Creek compound. The guy was nearly 80 years old at the time of their engagement. And get this, his oldest son is 59, which means Rhonda's former fiance's son was literally old enough to be her dad. The fact that she was going to marry a man who could pass for her grandfather is beyond creepy and kind of gross.
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PACEY AND TAMARA FROM DAWSON'S CREEK
The WB
On season one, we saw a middle-aged Tamara Jacobs pursue Pacey, who was just 15 years old at the time. Not surprisingly, this romance led to some controversy with viewers, but the president of The WB network at the time still allowed the show's creator, Kevin Williamson, to use the storyline because it was short-lived.
On the show, rumors about the two's relationship got so out of hand that they had to go to court. And of course, Pacey lied so that Tamara wouldn't end up behind bars. In an interview, Kevin said: "If I was writing the show today, I probably would not have [Pacey and Tamara's relationship] in the story." Yeah, that would've been a good call...
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MAUDE AND HAROLD FROM HAROLD AND MAUDE
Paramount Pictures
In this film, Harold is in his early 20s, and dear Maude is 79. The two meet when they attend a funeral service together, which just happens to be a hobby that both of them share. But that turns out to be all that they have in common because while Harold is gloomy and obsessed with death, Maude is optimistic, quirky, and carefree. They're like opposites that attract and so they form a close friendship. But soon, that friendship becomes something more, and Harold asks Maude to marry him. We get that they had a special bond and all, but that age gap was just too much for us to handle. Still a cute movie, though.
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PARIS AND ASHER FROM GILMORE GIRLS
The CW
Some might not see this as a big deal, since technically, Paris was old enough to date Asher - in legal terms. However, he was 62 (40+ years her senior) and he was also her professor at Yale. They actually met through Rory's grandfather, Richard, because he and Asher used to be classmates. So essentially, this guy was old enough to be Paris's granddad!
The two started dating during Paris's freshman year, but what's more disturbing is that he was known for having affairs with his female students. Creep alert!
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MICHAEL AND ANNA FROM THIRD PERSON
Sony Pictures
It's a drama film that follows three romantic couples, but perhaps the most disturbing of the three were Anna and Michael. Sure, their chemistry was spot-on and super steamy. Some might even argue that this trumps their age difference (Michael was almost twice her age). But still, this guy was old enough to be Anna's father. And that still qualifies as creepy in our book.
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SHEBA AND STEVEN FROM NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Fox Searchlight
Sheba Hart, an art teacher in her 30s, starts to have a sexual affair with a 15-year-old student named Steven. But during one of their sexual encounters, they get caught by another teacher. When that teacher confronts her, Sheba is forced to end the affair. But things start to fall apart for her because the entire school also finds out. We ought to note that teacher/student relationships are never a good idea, regardless of age gaps. But in this case, it's even more unsettling because of the age difference. Like, when she was his age, he wasn't even born yet. *shudders*
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PUCK AND SHELBY FROM GLEE
FOX
If you can recall, Quinn and Puck had a child named Beth in season one and she was soon adopted by Shelby (Rachel's mom). In the process, Puck and Shelby started to bond. And that bond became so strong that they actually started to develop feelings for each other. Now, Beth's adoptive mom was in her 40s and Puck was still a teenager, meaning that she was technically old enough to be his mom too. Nothing about this felt right. And no, the fact that they had stellar singing voices didn't help.
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GABE AND RAIN FROM HUSBANDS AND WIVES
TriStar
I guess a Woody Allen would be on a list of creepy relationships. IRL he's married to Soon Yi Previn, a woman 34 years his junior and his former stepdaughter. But in this movie, we have a classic example of how teachers can take advantage of friendships with their students by turning it into something inappropriate, and it's honestly unacceptable. In the film, Gabe develops a friendship with one of his young students, Rain. He grows to trust her so much that he even allows her to critique his manuscript. But then, he crosses a line when he attends her 21st birthday party. The two actually kiss, sharing a romantic moment. And for the record, Gabe was in his late 50s. Blech.
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ISAAC AND TRACY FROM MANHATTAN
United Artists
Woody Allen, again! Shocker. In Manhattan, Isaac, a formerly divorced 42-year-old writer, dates a 17-year-old girl named Tracy. Tracy seems to have stronger feelings for Isaac than he does for her, and so he seems to keep the relationship going for her sake. But watching these two together legit felt like watching a girl date her own father. The fact that Isaac eventually broke things off because he felt she was too young made the whole thing a little less unbearable.
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FINCH AND STIFLER'S MOM FROM AMERICAN PIE
Universal Pictures
It's quite typical for teenaged guys to crush of MILFs, but if those feelings are actually reciprocated and acted upon? Well, it's a problem. Stifler's mom, who was in her 40s, was actually turned on by Finch, a teenager. She was apparently impressed because he seemed mature for his age, and so the kid got to lose his virginity to her on a pool table (we doubt he was 18). We honestly don't blame Stifler for passing out when he caught them together the next morning. We probably would've done the same.
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MICKEY AND GRACE FROM GANGSTER SQUAD
Warner Bros.
Here's a fun fact: Emma Stone was just 25 when she played this role. Her on-screen love interest, Sean Penn, actually has a daughter (Dylan Frances) who's just ONE year younger than Emma. Pretty insane, isn't it? But in the film, Emma plays Grace, Mickey's social etiquette teacher and lover. It's not the only time she played the love interest of an older guy, but Sean is the oldest example of the bunch.
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ROBIN AND QUINN FROM SIX DAYS, SEVEN NIGHTS
Buena Vista Pictures
While flying, Robin and Quinn get caught in a thunderstorm and their plane crashes on a deserted island. Even though Robin was engaged and Quinn already had a girlfriend, the two developed romantic feelings for each other. Robin appeared to be in her mid-20s while Harrison looked old enough to be her dad. This is a familiar (and unsettling) pattern we've grown used to seeing when it comes to fictional romances.
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ROBERT AND VIRGINIA IN ENTRAPMENT
20th Century Fox
We agree that these two had chemistry. But even from this photo, it's pretty clear that Robert and Virginia (or Mac and Gin) could easily be father and daughter. Also, we find it interesting that Catherine Zeta-Douglas (48) also married a much older guy (73-year-old Michael Douglas) in real life. Again, art does imitate life.
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HUMBERT AND DOLORES IN LOLITA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
In case you're unfamiliar with the tale, 37-year-old Humbert has a weird obsession with girls aged ages 9 to 14. He falls for (or rather, becomes infatuated with) a 12-year-old named Dolores Haze, and he goes as far as pretending to like the girl's mother so he can pursue a secret romantic relationship with her. But when her mother dies in an accident, they become sexually involved and Humbert grows extremely possessive of her. It's enough to make anyone cringe because he's definitely a pedophile.
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ARIA AND EZRA FROM PRETTY LITTLE LIARS
Freeform
Sorry, Team Ezria. The age gap may not have been that huge (seven years), and yes, we know that the legal age of consent in Pennsylvania (where it all took place), is 16. But think about it. What 23-year-old actually tries to pursue a young teenager? That is so creepy! But what made this even worse was the student-teacher dynamic. That part is not okay. He had an easy opportunity to abuse his power and his actions clearly showed that he wasn't capable of setting the right boundaries with his students.
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ARCHIE AND MRS. GRUNDY FROM RIVERDALE
The CW
We feel like every student has crushed on at least one of their "hot teachers" before. On Riverdale, we get to see that kind of fantasy play out. A middle-aged and attractive Mrs. Grundy falls for her music student the summer after his freshman year in high school, which is just weird and all kinds of messed up. But what made things even more awkward was the fact that Archie's dad started to take an interest in her (until he found out what was really going on, of course). Having a huge crush on a teacher is one thing, but acting on that impulse is extremely inappropriate. It wasn't a one-time thing, either, Ms. Grundy's true colors as a straight-up predator were discovered.
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