I Binged Age of Attraction on Netflix

Does age matter in love and relationships? It’s a controversial topic. There are some who will say it doesn’t, and others who will frown upon it. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a believer or disbeliever.

Age of Attraction will reel you in.

It’s one of the top 10 trending shows on Netflix.

I was intrigued.

Younger men tend to ask me out.

It feels illicit. A woman dating a man ten or twelve years younger. The double standard is glaring but gender-wise it’s still not entirely unaccepted. But an older man and younger woman is not uncommon.

But wait until the end of this piece.

I’ll surprise you with a few unexpected stories that demonstrate age can be just a number.

The premise of this new dating show?

A group of 40 hopeful singles (of all ages) are dropped off in a dreamy portion of British Columbia. The men and women meet in what they describe as a ‘retreat style’ setting.

The show does not involve a complicated process.

It isn’t filled with ceremonial eliminations, or over the top grandeur.

It’s a laid-back get to know one another approach. It begins with a quick meet and greet via speed dating. After that, it’s pretty much up to the dating hopefuls to choose who they feel most attracted to.

There’s only one rule.

The dating singles are forbidden to ask each other one question.

“How old are you?”

Age of Attraction is hosted by Nick Viall (Bachelor Nation) and his wife Natalie Joy (Social Media Personality). They attest to the theory that age doesn’t matter. She is 26 years old and he is 44.

There’s an 18 year age gap in their relationship.

I was sucked in by the first episode.

Don’t judge me.

I often turn down the younger men who ask me out. I definitely turn down the ones who are more than a dozen years younger. It’s too big a gap for me.

It’s also become trendy to date older women.

It’s why I don’t take interest from much younger men seriously. But I am at an age where men within ten years aren’t at an entirely different life experience than me.

I was intrigued by Age of Attraction.

Is attraction just attraction?

Does age really matter? Is chemistry just chemistry? Is a connection a connection? Is love just love? Is happiness just happiness with another human being regardless of age?

The casting directors were clever.

They chose men and women who defied age.

It could be an older man or woman who didn’t look their age, or it could be a younger person who looked older than their years. It was difficult to determine the dating singles’ ages.

I watched as the men and women chose one another.

If they felt an intense connection to one another they could agree to The Promise Room. The Promise room held the reveal. It would be the one moment they could finally expose their ages.

I’m pretty good at guessing age.

I was off on nearly every reveal.

It made me want to watch the rest of Age of Attraction more.

The finale did not disappoint. It made me rethink my apprehension about dating men who are roughly ten years younger.

Love is hard to find.

Chemistry is hard to find. Attraction is hard to find. Sincerity is hard to find. Character is hard to find. Fun is hard to find. Happiness is hard to find.

Those things are all incredibly difficult to find while dating.

Love is a gift.

As are all of the things that come with it.

I think Netflix did an incredible job in casting. It was unlike the pop culture, reality star driven dating shows of the past. The six remaining couples on Age of Attraction felt authentic.

They did not appear to be people seeking stardom.

They felt like ordinary beautiful people (inside and out) who were truly looking for love. I think that’s where Age of Attraction captured the magic.

The five remaining couples were believable.

You felt their sincerity.

Unfortunately, like many dating shows that may diminish with future seasons. The people who crave celebrity, social media notoriety, and their 15 minutes of fame may take over.

But without a doubt, Age of Attraction is a binge-worthy must see.

It may help society edge more toward accepting love of any age.

I married a man within two years of my age. He was an Irish Catholic, an extrovert, and overly social just like me. We both had business backgrounds and the same beliefs.

We didn’t last.

We had hurdles we couldn’t overcome.

Every relationship does.

It’s not always how we appear but how we love that matters.

We are all so quick to judge love. Especially, when people are searching for love the second time around. We wonder why they chose that person? What do they see in them?

It’s human nature.

My friend has been with a man who is eight years her junior. They’ve been together for years. She’s beautiful inside and out and he is handsome as he is good.

One day I told him I struggled with accepting the dates of younger men. He was baffled. He looked at the group of us girls and said, “Why do you girls care?”

He loves my friend with all of his heart.

If you saw them together you would never guess there was an age gap.

Does age really matter?

I think it’s becoming less relevant. If you’re someone who can get over it. It’s taken me a while to be comfortable with a gap of roughly ten or more years. But should I pass on happiness if I meet a guy that age?

I do have another story of age not truly being important.

Another story that is a testimony to Netflix’s Age of Attraction.

A friend of mine from high school’s parents got divorced. His mother was a beautiful woman in her mid-30s. She met a man who was just 25 years old. It was hugely controversial at the time.

They married.

They remained not happily married, BUT incredibly happily married.

Until she passed away in her 80s.

They were the love of each other’s lives.

Why? Who knows. Love doesn’t discriminate. She was youthful and beautiful and full of joy and energy. He had to have been somewhat older than his years.

They ignored society.

They ignored the world.

They ignored imposed expectations.

And they didn’t miss their chance at love, family, and happiness.

I saw first hand that age doesn’t necessarily matter. They had their last laugh at all of the naysayers. It doesn’t mean that all age gaps can defy real life.

As always, the world of love is not black and white.

It’s complicated.

But here’s to anyone who finds love because love is the springtime of life.

It’s a rebirth, a promise, and the hope of all that’s beautiful in this world.

*The soundtrack to Age of Attraction on Netflix is incredible. The writer in me is addicted to lyrics and music. I found this aspect of the show incredibly sexy and well done. It was subtly infused into the background but you couldn’t help but take note of the words.
I included it heere because it took me a while Googling it to find it.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.