I'm a 40 year old woman dating a 26 year old guy. Am I crazy for falling in love with him? Is it insane to think a long term relationship could work?

Anonymous

I'm currently dating a much younger guy (I'm 40, he's 26). When we started going out I didn't want anything serious. He was a super hot and super fun younger guy who was actively pursuing me and expressing a lot of attraction towards me. I was super flattered, super superficially attracted to him, thought he was a lot of fun, and I didn't want anything serious. I thought going out with him would be a great chance to have a fun fling, but that things would inevitably fizzle out and we'd eventually move on.

Well, much to my surprise, that hasn't happened. We actually have a pretty significant connection and have pretty strong feelings for each other. I have a ton of fun when I'm around him, but he's also super sweet, caring, and supportive. I just love talking to him, and I want to be around him as much as I can (which is usually when my two teen girls are with their dad, which is about half the time). I know that we have a big age difference, but when I'm around him I just can't feel it. He brightens my day whenever he's around. We've talked about it, and he feels the same way. We both want to move the relationship in a much more serious direction

But at the same time, the more realistic side I can often think I'm being kind of dumb. The age gap is probably a big issue if we try to get in a serious long term relationship. Sure, right now he's super attracted to me, but how long will that last? Will he still find me attractive in 10, 20, 30 years? Moreover, there are a lot of beautiful girls his age who are very attracted to him. I sometimes worry he'll one day lose interest in me for a younger woman. Additionally, while our libido levels are super compatible now, I don't know how that'll change when I reach menopause. (More to read)

Im a 40 year old woman dating a 26 year old guy. Am I crazy for falling in love with him? Is it insane to think a long term relationship could work?
Updates
4 mo
Moreover, I worry about a future family. I'd actually love to have more kids. If we reach the point of kids it's not that crazy of an idea that I could get pregnant, but at my age it could still be far from guaranteed. On top of that, I just don't know how he'd fit in with the two daughters I already have. Would they find it way too weird that there's such a big age gap between us? How would the rest of my family react? How would his family react?

Updates
4 mo
I have talked to him about it. He's constantly assured me that I shouldn't be worried about the age gap, and that we can/will still work great together. He's said that his feelings for me won't change when we get older. He also says that if I can't get pregnant he'd be happy to adopt instead (which I'd also be fine with).

I know that he means all of this with all his heart, but there's just that fear inside me that he could change his mind years down the road

I'm a 40 year old woman dating a 26 year old guy. Am I crazy for falling in love with him? Is it insane to think a long term relationship could work?
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