Hey Tabloids, Demi Moore Is Ashton Kutcher’s Wife — Not His Mom
Rumors of an alleged split between Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher are taking up a sizable amount of the internet these days and while neither star has yet to confirm anything, tabloids and blogs have predictably gone straight for the couple’s age difference. But while other couples carry their age difference in the more conventional way (i.e. the man is the older one), Demi and Ashton’s “inverted” difference in years seems to give the press license to paint her as Ashton’s angry mommy — not his wife.
Radar calls their union “a May to December marriage” and says that Demi “has had enough of her toy boy.” Amidst rumors that Ashton has cheated on Demi, Radar describes her “fed up” — language most often used to describe a parents’ frustrations with a toddler.
The accounts of Ashton’s cheating escapades with younger women include hot tubs and drinkings, suggesting the actor to be nothing more than a teenager. Meanwhile, Demi is depicted as having to police her husband’s many infidelities throughout their marriage, much like a distrustful parent.
Because Demi is older than her husband, the assumption naturally is that Ashton sought out younger ladies because Demi just can’t “stay young.” Daily Mail quotes a producer who shared these comments on the alleged split:
”˜Demi does everything she can to stay young and sexy, but when it comes down to it she is a 48-year-old woman.”
Snide comments like these suggest if Demi was closer to her husband’s age, than perhaps they wouldn’t be having marital problems. This explicit attack on Demi’s age reveals that culturally, we still aren’t comfortable with seeing age gaps go both ways in partnerships. And with the word “cougar” having been added to the English dictionary with an obvious new definition (without an accompanying term for men who date a little younger I might add), older women are clearly the target in these relationships.
Demi and Ashton’s marriage may be in trouble, but the press has clearly spun a narrative founded in a discomfort with older women dating younger men.
(photo: WENN)
