Men and women both prefer younger romantic partners, UC Davis finds. Is anyone surprised?

When Ron and Barbara Benavidez met decades ago as students at Chico State, Ron liked the way Barbara carried herself and thought she was older, maybe a professor.

That would put him at odds with a study released in late January from University of California, Davis.

The study, which was published Jan. 27 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, looked at results of 4,500 blind dates for people seeking long-term partnership. The principal finding of the study: Men and women equally prefer younger romantic partners.

It’s a finding that turns conventional wisdom on its head, that men prefer younger partners while women want older ones. UC Davis psychology professor Paul Eastwick, the study’s lead author, said that when women and men reported before dates whether they were interested in older or younger partners, the results seemed standard. Men said they wanted younger partners, while women reported wanting older partners.

What was fascinating to Eastwick was that when his team examined how much people liked their dates or were interested to go out further “we found it tended to be the younger partners that were more appealing. And that was exactly equivalent for men and women.”

According to a Jan. 27 news release from UC Davis, the study drew on data from more than 6,000 people set up for blind dates by Tawkify, a matchmaking service. The study participants ranged in age from 22 to 85, with an even split between men and women and a mix of ethnicities and locations across the U.S.

The finding drew a mix of reactions among people interviewed Monday afternoon in midtown. “I guess initially I find that surprising,” said Lorelei Taybi, 22, as she ate on the front deck of Burger Patch near 24th and K streets. “I think a lot of my female friends would be off put by having a younger partner.”

Why precisely people preferred younger partners wasn’t immediately clear. Wealth doesn’t appear to be a factor, with the news release noting that some of the women studied were fairly well-off but that “there was very little evidence that income – either their dates’ or their own – influenced these women’s (slight) preference for youth.”

Eastwick told the Sacramento Bee that “there seems to be perhaps some sort of disconnect between what women think will appeal to them and what actually appeals to them once they… go on these dates.”

Ashley Bliss, who was on a stroll down J Street, was surprised by the study’s main finding. “I am in my mid twenties and I feel like for me personally, I would prefer an older partner just because maturity level and ambition, things like that,” Bliss said.

Some were less surprised about each gender preferring younger romantic partners. Henry Kittrell, a 69-year-old man working the floor at Relles Florist at 24th and J streets said the study’s finding sounded normal. “You think about in the scheme of history, I mean, if you had a younger partner, chances are you could keep procreating longer,” Kittrell said.

Others said they didn’t give age too much mind.

Curt Thomas, a 52-year-old travelling contractor from Eugene, Oregon, was working on a parking lot upgrade near 22nd and K streets as he gave a brief interview, wearing a tank top and using a metal rake to gather a loose asphalt-like substance. He said his girlfriend of five months is 65. They met through friends, with Thomas finding her sweet and cool.

“I don’t really prefer age,” Thomas said. “But it’s kind of more the how you get along.”

Joseph Baugher, a 40-year-old financial advisor walking on 20th Street admitted his fiancee was 11-12 years younger than him, though he added, “Guys, we don’t really give a s— either way. We care about looks.”

Ron and Barbara Benavidez are due to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary in April. At Chico State, they each had communications-related majors, with Barbara studying graphic design and Ron studying public relations, broadcasting and marketing. They shared a core class and met outside the lecture hall one day, Ron remembered.

Barbara Benavidez, 64, said she tended to go out with older partners, though this wasn’t what drew her to them. What she cared about was how people acted.

Ron Benavidez, 65, thinks his girlfriends in the earlier part of his life were generally younger than him. This wasn’t really a choice for him, just something that happened. Age, in general, didn’t factor too much into his relationships, which helped draw him and his wife together in Chico.

“I think when you’re younger, it’s more of an issue,” he said. “You’re more cognizant of, ‘Oh, she’s two years older than me. I’m just a freshman,’ when you’re in high school or something like that. I think once you become young adults… it didn’t really matter.”