Robert Redford and second wife Sibylle Szaggars
Iconic actor Robert Redford broke the mould on the weekend and did what few men of his advanced years, elevated status and deep pockets do – he married a woman in her 50s.
Shock, horror! Finally, an actor acting his age. Redford, who is 72, tied the knot with his girlfriend of 13 years, Sibylle Szaggars in a luxury hotel in Hamburg, and depending on which report you read, the bride is either 19 or 20 years younger than the man who broke hearts as Hubbell Gardner in the romantic epic, The Way We Were with Barbra Streisand in 1973 and won an Oscar for Best Director for Ordinary People in 1980.
And proving what an old-fashioned fellow he really is, Szaggars and Redford had been engaged since May last year.
Sure, a generation divides Redford and Szaggars but at least he hasn’t embarrassed himself by marrying a gold-digging careerist doubling as a nymphette 40, 50 or 60 years his junior. The artist Szaggars is in his age ballpark – well, at least on the periphery. And they look chronologically matched, with the march of years etched on both their faces, albeit his with deeper crevasses.
The age debate is a tricky one: there are those who say that age doesn’t matter and it’s usually a seriously younger woman who bangs on about how intelligent and fascinating her seriously older partner is – they rarely mention the mountains of money he has, or the toys or the access to power. Interestingly, the older men more often than not remain silent on the subject or dismiss it out of hand when – indeed, if – asked. Why should they bother explaining themselves? After all, they know the aphrodisiacal nature of money, fame and power.
Then there are the cynics who look at the match and go, hmmmm.
The not-so-curious thing about it, though, is that men can get away with being decades older than their wives and it doesn’t matter how big the age gap. They’re cradle snatchers, wink, wink. Give the old codger a pat on the back. And yes, there may be some science and biology involved – but how much and what age gap is OK?
Not surprisingly, a glaring double standard exists when women partner/marry/shack up with significantly younger men. They’ve even been branded with an unflattering nickname, cougars, as if they are predatory beasts, and movies and magazines have been devoted to them, casting them as subjects of ridicule and/or fascination.
Demi Moore and husband Ashton Kutcher
Me? I think there’s a bit more dignity in the older woman with a younger man than, say, Anna Nicole Smith with the late octogenarian and billionaire J. Howard Marshall, who was a sprightly (not) 89 when they tied to the knot, or Hugh Heffner with one of his many cookie-cutter blondes.
After all, the relationship is based on more than the obvious superficial attractions of power and money. Just think Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Mariah Carey, Demi Moore, Cher, Cameron Diaz, Mira Sorvino and, if you cast your minds waaaaaay back, Linda Evans.
I know who I’d rather see. A cougar not a codger.
