Syndicate Stars in love who bridged the age gap

Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor: 10-year age gap

Saif and Kareena’s romance is said to have begun on the sets of ‘Tashan’.  Kareena, who was previously in a relationship with Shahid Kapoor, and Saif, who was divorced from Amrita Singh, married in October 2012. Incidentally, Amrita was 10 years older than Saif.At the time of Saif and Bebo’s marriage, a top event in the social calendar, the Net was abuzz with stories – probably untrue -- that a ten-year-old Kareena had been a guest at Saif’s first marriage. They were obviously meant to draw attention to the age difference. The Khan couple is evidently very much in love and Kareena frequently gushes on her state of bliss.
Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao: 9-year age gap

Aamir and Kiran first met on the sets of ‘Lagaan’ – she was assistant to Ashutosh Gowariker – and became friends when the actor was doing some ad films for Gowariker.  Kiran has said they soon became ‘2 a.m. friends’.
At the time, Aamir was divorced from his first wife Reena Dutta and has said that Kiran helped him cope with his loneliness and pain. They began living together and married in 2005.
Sanjay Dutt, Manyata: 19-year age gap

Sanjay Dutt was married twice before – to Richa Sharma, who passed away, and Rhea Pilla who he divorced – before he met Manyata. She was a small-time actress then and her antecedents were unknown, but it is believed Manyata walked into his life when he was dating Nadia Durrani and completely took it over.
Sanjay and Manyata were married in 2008 and have two children. Manyata has recently been ill and Sanjay, serving time for illegal possession of arms, has sought parole to be with his ailing wife.
Boney Kapoor-Sridevi: 8-year age gap

It wasn’t just the age difference that Bollywood producer Boney Kapoor and the beautiful Sridevi had to overcome when they fell in love. For Boney was married at the time.After a stormy divorce he married Sridevi who starred in his production venture ‘Mr India’.  They have two daughters.
Dharmendra, Hema Malini: 13-year age gap

The Dream Girl and Dharmendra romance began around the time ‘Sholay’ was being made. Dharmendra was married at the time and had two sons.
According to the Bollywood grapevine, Dharmendra’s wife refused him a divorce so he and Hema Malini tied the knot in secret. Things were sorted out over time and the marriage became public. They have two daughters and recently celebrated the marriages of the younger one, Ahana.

Farah Khan, Shirish Kunder:  8-year age gap
Stars with younger women are quite common in Bollywood. But Farah Khan and Shirish Kunder’s marriage is different, for he is eight years younger than her.
Ajith Kumar, Shalini: 9-year age gap

The high profile couple met while shooting for the film ‘Amarkalam’. They married after a brief courtship and have a daughter, Anoushka. Shalini, who has starred in such hit films as Maniratnam’s ‘Alai Payuthey’, gave up films for good after marriage.

Kamal Haasan, Gouthami: 14-year age gap

After two marriages – with Vani Ganapathy and then Sarika - Kamal Haasan declared that the institution was not for him.  He’s now in a live-in relationship with Gouthami, also a divorcee, who has a daughter from her marriage.
Kamal and Gouthami have worked together in films such as ‘Thevar Magan’ and ‘Nammavar’ and there was plenty of chemistry on display when they shared screen space. They are open about their live-in relationship, which is pretty uncommon in conservative Kollywood.

Nagarjuna, Amala: 9-year age gap

Top Tollywood star Nagarjuna and Amala, who was then a reigning actress in the South met in the late 90s and romance was apparently kindled on the sets of ‘Shiva’.
Nagarjuna was married at the time and tied the knot with Amala after divorcing his first wife. Amala gave up films after her marriage and is now actively involved in animal welfare. The couple has a son, Akhil, who is making his foray in Tollywood.

Nazriya Nazim, Fahadh Fasil: 11-year age gap

The talented Nazriya is barely 20 and is already among the top heroines of the day in Malayalam and Tamil cinema. Fans were somewhat taken aback, then, when she announced her plans to marry Fahadh Fasil, the bad boy of Malayalam cinema and 11 years her senior, in August this year.

Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris: 60-year age gap

Hugh Hefner, 87, has done even better than Berlusconi, marrying model and former Playboy Playmate Crystal Harris who is just 27.  They were first engaged in 2010, but Crystal broke it off days before their June wedding in 2011.
The couple then reconciled and she became Hefner’s third wife in December 2012. Going by their Christmas card last year which had Hugh and Crystal in pyjamas cozying up at the Playboy Mansion where they live, the domestic situation is a happy one.

Woody Allen and Soon Yi-Previn: 35-year age gap

The Woody Allen-Soon Yi-Previn story was one of Hollywood’s spiciest. The four-time Oscar-winning director was in a long relationship with Mia Farrow when reports emerged of his involvement with Mia’s adopted daughter, Soon Yi-Previn. While there were allegations that Woody Allen had struck up a relationship with his stepdaughter he maintained he was not her legal stepfather.
In an interview, the irrepressible Woody Allen said, ‘What was the scandal? I fell in love with this girl, married her. We have been married for almost 15 years now (in 2011). There was no scandal, but people refer to it all the time as a scandal and I kind of like that in a way because when I go I would like to say I had one real juicy scandal in my life.’

Alec Baldwin, Hilaria Thomas: 26-year age gap

The ’30 Rock’ star married yoga instructor Hilaria, 28 years his junior in 2012. He was earlier married to Kim Basinger and they divorced in 2002.
Alec and Hilaria met at a New York restaurant in 2011 and exchanged numbers, after which they began dating. Hilaria has apparently put the 55-year-old Alec Baldwin on a health and yoga regimen and it’s certainly working, say friends and family.

Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes: 16-year age gap

It was a coming together of beautiful people when the ‘Mission Impossible’ star and actress Katie Holmes married in 2006.  It didn’t seem to matter that she was 16 years younger than him.
But the marriage ran into trouble after six years and the couple split after a messy and much-publicised divorce. It later emerged that one of the reasons Katie Holmes wanted out was to keep their daughter Suri away from the influence of Cruise’s belief in Scientology.

Beyonce, Jay Z: 12-year age gap

Placed on ‘Most Powerful Couple’ and ‘Top Earning Couple’ lists,  rapper Jay Z and R&B artiste Beyonce have been collaborating since 2002, when they worked together on the song ’03 Bonnie & Clyde’.
Despite their age difference and given the fickle nature of relationships in showbiz, this couple has made a success of theirs, ever since their marriage in 2008.  Both believe in keeping their marriage out of the public eye and Jay Z has said, ‘We don’t play with our relationship’.

Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore: 15-year age gap

At 41, she was the quintessential cougar who started dating a 25-year-old man. She was also Demi Moore, the ultimate diva. They met in 2003, when Demi was divorced from Bruce Willis, and married in 2005. It seemed like the perfect example of older women finding happiness with a younger partner.
But the marriage was not to last. Demi announced her decision to separate in 2011 and they were divorced last year. Apparently, Ashton’s extra-marital flings were part of the reason. He is now in a relationship with his ‘That 70s Show’ co-star Mila Kunis.

Bradley Cooper, Suki Waterhouse: 17-year age gap

The ‘American Hustle’ star with the staggering good looks is dating Burberry model Suki Waterhouse who is 22 to his 49. They met last year at the Elle Awards and have been an item since.

Megan Fox, Brian Austin Green: 13-year age gap

The two TV actors met on the sets of ‘Hope & Faith’ in 2005 and began dating soon after. Megan Fox was 18 and Brian Austin Green was 30.
In 2009 they announced they were engaged and later that they had broken up while still living together. They got back together and married in 2010. The couple has two sons, Noah and Bodhi, who was born this February.

Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta Jones: 25-year age gap

The ‘Wall Street’ actor and the Welsh origin actress began to date in 1999 and married the next year. At the time Michael Douglas was divorced, after a 17-year-old marriage. He and Catherine Zeta-Jones share the same birthday, but were born 25 years apart.

Harrison Ford, Calista Flockhart: 22-year age gap

The ruggedly handsome ‘Indiana Jones’ star met the much younger Calista Flockhart at the Golden Globes awards in 2002. They dated for several years until Harrison Ford proposed to her on Valentine’s Day in 2009.