I had someone ask me recently if I’d ever write an age-gap romance story. I always appreciate readers sharing ideas and engaging with my work, but this is one trope I personally won’t write.
I know age-gap romances are incredibly popular, and I fully understand that many readers enjoy them. But for me, I don’t find relationships between a 35-year-old and an 18-year-old romantic. Even if it’s technically legal, it still feels deeply unbalanced to me emotionally, mentally, and in terms of life experiences.
Personally, I believe partnerships should feel equal, and not like a dynamic between a fully grown adult and someone who is barely out of adolescence. That imbalance is something I can’t romanticize in my own stories.
In fact, the biggest age difference I’ve written so far is four years (in Shivaani’s story), and even that felt significant to me while writing it.
Just wanted to share my perspective out loud since I’ve been thinking about it lately. Everyone has different tastes in fiction, and this is simply one of my personal boundaries as a writer.