WATCHING my gorgeous husband walk topless around our bedroom I know I’ve hit the jackpot.
While our relationship has often raised eyebrows, I shrug at the haters, firm in the knowledge my sex life and happiness could not be better.
The controversy? The thing that has everyone clutching their pearls? I’m 44 and my man is 22. Outrageous, right?
But it turns out that I’m not alone in cougar-ville.
New research has found that women – in equal numbers to men – are now seeking younger partners.
As a mum-of-six who has dated her fair share of toyboys I’m confident in saying, ladies, you will not regret it.
Yes, people have mistaken me from my man’s mum. Yes, my own mother wasn’t that impressed at the start. And, yes, strangers stare. But, so what? I couldn’t be more loved up.
I’ve been wed three times and I know this time it’s for life.
I married my first husband in 2003, when I was 23. He was my childhood sweetheart, and we’d met when we were both just 15.
We divorced in 2009 when I was 29, and by then was a mum to my three oldest boys, now 22, 20 and 19.
It was only when I started dating again at 30 that I admitted to myself what I’d suspected for ages. I just wasn’t attracted to guys my own age, and definitely not to those who were older.
For years my girlfriends had gone for that kind of man, drawn to their maturity and money.
When they chatted me up though, I just saw boring guys who were already losing their hair, not ‘silver foxes’.
Then in 2010 a guy liked my picture on Facebook. I was 30, he was 24, and I was instantly drawn to his up-for-it attitude and energy.
We had two sons together, now 15 and 14, before marrying in February 2013. We then had a daughter, now 10, in July 2014. But by 2015 we were divorced.
The breakdown of our marriage wasn’t caused by our age gap, and the decade between me and my next boyfriend wasn’t a factor either. But when I was 40, and dating a 22-year-old, the raised eyebrows and comments were endless.
On holiday together in 2020 we were clubbing when a group of lads said kindly, ‘It’s so nice that you’ve come on holiday with your mum.’ I was mortified.
But still, I loved the energy that younger guys had. My sons were always telling me that I didn’t act my age, and to me that was a compliment.
I was 40 but still wanted to have fun, to make the most of every minute and found that it was the younger men who had that zest for life that matched mine.
Hearing he was 20 I felt a wave of panic. He was the same age as my eldest son.
Trish Hughes
Unlike the 50-year-old guy who messaged me on Instagram. When I tried to let him down gently, explaining that his uninvited topless pics didn’t do anything for me, he was furious.
He wrote that I’d never find a younger guy to take on me and my ‘baggage’. I thought, I’ll show him!
Me and the 22-year-old split but when I was back on Tinder in July 2022, I didn’t even set an age range.
When I saw that a gorgeous young guy called Byron had swiped me, I didn’t hesitate. He hadn’t listed his age, but that didn’t matter. He knew mine because I celebrated it, I wasn’t ashamed of being 42. In fact, I’d learned that for lots of young men, it was a huge attraction.
A-list age gap relationships that have stood the test of time
- Kris Jenner & Corey Gamble – 25 years
The Kardashian matriarch, 69, met her younger man, 44, at a mutual friend’s 40th birthday party in Ibiza. They’ve been together since August 2014. - Sam & Aaron Taylor-Johnson – 23 years
The director, 57, and actor, 34, reportedly met at a film audition in 2009, and were married by 2012. The pair share two daughters and Sam has two children from a previous marriage. - Rosie-Huntington-Whiteley & Jason Statham – 20 years
The model, 37, started dating actor Jason, 57, in 2010. They were wed in 2016 and have since welcomed a son and a daughter together. - Catherine Zeta-Jones & Michael Douglas – 25 years
Catherine, 55, was introduced to Michael, 80, a film festival in 1996 and engaged three years later. Shortly after their engagement, the couple welcomed a son and married in 2000.
As our messages flew, I felt such a strong connection. He was a dad to a one-year-old daughter, had his own place and worked hard as a plumber, so I knew he was responsible. But he also had such an incredible, youthful vibe. I was just drawn to him.
Three weeks later we had Sunday lunch with his daughter at his house, and he was just as gorgeous in real life. When we said goodbye with a wave, I didn’t know if he liked me, and our second date at a street food festival with both of our daughters ended with a super awkward hug.
Then on our third date, this time on the beach without any children, his phone pinged with a message from his mum. She was asking how our date was going. He’d already told her everything! Seeing Byron’s confidence about me was amazing. That’s when I asked how old he was.
Hearing he was 20 I felt a wave of panic. He was the same age as my eldest son, they even had their birthdays the same week.
For a week I thought it over. Was the age gap just too big? But he was handsome, kind and fun. What did it matter if there were 22 years between us? When I told Byron I wanted us to be together he was thrilled.
My sons were amazing from the start. I didn’t have any nerves about them meeting Byron a few weeks after we got together, even once we’d realized that he’d been at the same college as my eldest. Thankfully they got on brilliantly and there wasn’t any weirdness.
It wasn’t quite so easy with my mum. A month into our relationship, I went on a girls’ holiday and Byron stayed at my house. Mum, who knew nothing about him, found him asleep in my bed. The poor guy woke up to her saying ‘who on earth are you?
She wasn’t happy and couldn’t understand why I kept going for younger men. I think she wanted to protect me from being hurt. Thankfully he won her over and soon she was telling me what a lovely, hardworking guy he was.
I was nervous about meeting his mum in October 2022, especially as we’re the same age. I wanted her to see the real me, to understand that I only wanted good things for her son. I was so relieved to hear from Byron that she liked me.
We’ve laughed when people assumed that I’m his daughter’s grandma.
Trish Hughes
When you’re with a younger guy you don’t have to be ‘sensible’ just because that’s how society expects a 40-something mother to behave. We drew up a bucket list of adventures and immediately started ticking them off.
We ran a 10k race and climbed a mountain, got matching tattoos and partied at festivals and concerts.
There was a beach holiday to Magaluf, clubbing in Ibiza and celebrating our one-year anniversary in Portugal. Sightseeing on scooters I felt so happy. I didn’t think about our ages, we were just two people in love with life and each other.
If strangers had a problem with it, we didn’t care. We’ve laughed when people thought Byron was my son or assumed that I’m his daughter’s grandma.
In fact, most comments were positive. Dancing on Byron’s shoulders and snogging at an N-Dubz concert, a woman commented on how cute we were, how she wished she could be with a younger guy. I told her to go for it and she’d never regret it!
Byron’s energy and enthusiasm are endless, in the bedroom and outside of it, and that gives me such a boost.
As for Byron, when we first got together my son’s friends would come over, shake his hand and say, ‘well played, mate!’ We both thought that was hilarious.
I’ve become an expert in being a cougar!
Trish Hughes
In April 2023 Byron and my son had a joint 21 st birthday party – at a soft play! We sipped cocktails, sped down slides, and played hide and seek in the big pits of brightly coloured balls.
I didn’t care if it seemed weird that I celebrated my boyfriend and my child being the same age. We were having too much fun!
I did have moments when I looked in the mirror and thought, I look old. But Byron constantly told me how beautiful I was. When I worried that younger women could be sliding into his DMs, he looked baffled, saying no one was as sexy as me.
We moved in together in May 2023 and, despite Byron constantly asking me to marry him, I brushed off the idea. I’d been married twice, we didn’t need that to be happy.
Then, in March 2024, we booked a holiday to Las Vegas for that May. The city had been on our holiday bucket list for ages.
A few days later, we were talking about all the amazing things we’d do. That’s when we looked at each other and at the same time said, ‘let’s get married!’
We decided to keep it a secret from everyone. We sneakily bought wedding clothes and chose a chapel, without saying a word to family or friends. It felt a bit naughty not to share the plan, but we just wanted to keep it to ourselves.
On May 26, we jumped in a taxi from our Las Vegas hotel and a few minutes later were walking down the aisle to the Ed Sheeran song For My Hand.
Just fifteen minutes later we were husband and wife. I was 44 and Byron was 22.
We’d decided not to tell anyone at home that we were married until July. That’s when we’d throw an ‘engagement party’ and spill the beans!
It was so hard to keep the secret for two months. We had to hide the rings and kept giggling when we looked at one another and remembered what we’d done.
Finally, at the party we’d arranged, we made the big announcement, and everyone was thrilled for us.
No one batted an eyelid that my new husband was 22 years younger than me. And why on earth should they?
As this new study has just found, both men and women are attracted to younger partners. I’m not surprised at all.
I’ve known for years that women love younger guys, but have just been too embarrassed to admit it.
For decades no one has cared if an older man has a much younger wife, but somehow it was shocking when the roles were reversed.
That taboo is almost gone and like me, celebs including Sienna Miller, Heidi Klum and Priyanka Chopra have no shame in admitting they find toyboys hot.
I tell women not to lie on the dating apps but to put their real age. You’d be amazed how many gorgeous young guys are desperate to hook up with an older woman.
I’ve seen it in my own friends and family. Last year a family member called me wanting advice. I had no idea what she’d ask until she said, ‘So, I’ve met this younger guy…’ I laughed. I’ve become an expert in being a cougar!
My advice is always the same. Just embrace it and have fun. They didn’t stay together for long, but she told me afterwards it was the most fun she’d had in months. Her confidence was sky high.
Then there was the close friend who always dated older guys, saying that she wanted someone to look after her. But in 2020 she started dated a much younger man and they’re still madly in love.
Let’s be honest, not every date with a twenty-something is going to turn into a long-term relationship. But between the great sex and the positive outlook that younger guys have, that can be more than enough.
I’m just lucky enough to have hit the jackpot. A gorgeous, fun-loving, committed man, who was desperate to make me his wife. I couldn’t care less how many candles are on his birthday cake.
'Trish is most incredibly, sexy woman'
Byron Hughes, 22, a plumber, lives with Trish and her six children. He says...
The second we matched on Tinder I dropped my tools in excitement. I couldn’t believe this stunning woman had swiped me back.
I’d never been with an older woman before but as soon as we started talking our connection was amazing. Becoming a dad at 19 made me more mature and Trish was so youthful. It was like we met in the middle.
I know people talk when they see us, but I don’t care, our age difference doesn’t define us.
Trish is the most incredibly, sexy woman I’ve ever met. She’s broadened my horizons and makes me happy. I’m just so lucky to have her in my life.
