I've seen people here querying if significant gaps can work so I thought I'd post something based on experience.

A number of years ago I posted a bunch of personal ads based on my experience as a university student, which was that the attractive younger women often had an older lover as well as a campus boyfriend. And I thought, as the older man, it was my turn!

I got a mix of replies but hit it off with one in particular and we started seeing each other. Mostly just occasional meets for flirting, odd trips away and some romantic encounters too. I think this occurred around November of her first (freshman) year, i.e. winter in the northern hemisphere.

I wouldn't say that it was a 'serious' relationship but it was based around a shared sense of the ridiculous and we found that the way others reacted to us with surprise (I was 30 years her senior) was so amusing that it forged a kind of bond with us. We'd meet 2-3 times a month maybe, with a break during vacation times when she went home to see her family. We'd always said it wasn't an exclusive thing and she could see guys her own age too.

I happened to say that I had plans for a lengthy sailing trip in the coming summer, which excited her and she asked if she could come along. Cutting a long story short, that summer she learned enough to get a qualification which meant that jointly we were able to charter boats for cruising and did that on subsequent years.

The relationship/friendship/affair lasted all through her studying years and two years into work, when eventually she told me she was serious about an own-age guy she was seeing and did I mind that she planned to marry him?

I gave my blessing and to my delight, under a suitable excuse of being a kind of family friend, actually got invited to the wedding, a slap-up do in Sicily.

Now my experience may not work for everyone, but I'd say it taught me that if you go in with a clear view and reasonable expectations, you can build a friendship and memories that last a lifetime.

If anyone else has had similar experiences, it would be nice to hear about that in replies.