Questions: Dating

There have been a few times in my life where I dated women who had “school girl” crushes on me. However they later quickly bailed when they got to know the real me.

I am not a psycho or anything. I am definitely a deep thinker and can be sensitive about things. I got some depression but I’ve always been independent both financially and emotionally. I get support from friends but I know it’s ultimately up to me to fix my own issues.

Anyway I’ve improved on how showed my lesser sides to women as I have gotten older. Gotten better at being careful about what emotions I will show women vs. which ones I’ll keep a lid on. Especially when it comes to insecurities

But I can remember dating a few women in the past who were initially head over heels for me because of the fantasy they had in their head about who they thought I was. Sure it felt good initially. They often pursued me and made dating easy. No problem getting laid in that scenario (usually their idea). They also would act seemingly supportive and tolerant of my personality. But this always ended bad. Very bad. One girl ghosted me after dating for 9 f*cking months. And all while I was dating I was aware they might just be daydreaming only to do a 180 later when their “emotions” changed.

But there have been a few women I pursued just to discover issues with them later that was less than pleasant. It was a turn off but I never did a quick 180 immediately just because they didn’t match up to the original image I had of them in my head.

The question arose whether guys would prefer to date a woman younger or older, I expressed my opinion, and some whippersnapper" called me "ignorant." So please tell me the answer, guys and girls! Would you prefer to date someone younger or older? (Please assume that the younger person has at least reached the age of consent.)