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Anger at TV show with big age difference couples
PRINT ALL READINGS (PDF)Age Differences - Level 4
People in the UK are angry at a TV channel over a show called Age Gap Love. People said it normalises grooming. One show followed the relationship of man who was 44 when his partner was 16. He was a friend of the 16-year-old's mother. He became friendly with the daughter when she was a child. After this show, the channel got a lot of complaints. People were angry at the show for "making this concept seem normal".
The couple are now married with two children. The man, 47, said he worried about what people thought of the age gap. His wife, 19, said: "The age doesn't really bother me. It never has done. I don't see him as an old man...or anything like that. He's just sensitive - like a big teddy bear." She said she always wanted a family and he was "the perfect man". Life was not easy for the couple. When they first started dating, they got a lot of abuse. They had to move.
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Age Differences - Level 5
People in the UK are angry at a TV channel. Viewers accused the Channel 5 series Age Gap Love of "normalising grooming". The show followed the lives of couples with a big age difference. One show followed the relationship of a couple who dated when the man was 44 and his partner was 16. The man was a friend of the 16-year-old's mother. He became friendly with the daughter when she was a child. After this episode was aired, the channel received a flood of complaints from viewers. They slammed the show for "making this concept seem normal".
The couple in the show are married with two children. The man, 47, said he was worried about what people would think of the big gap. His wife, now 19, also spoke about their relationship. She said: "The age doesn't really bother me. It never has done. I don't see him as an old man...or anything like that. He's just sensitive - like a big teddy bear." She added: "I've always wanted to have a family, so I just thought he would be the perfect man." Life has not been easy for the couple. When they first started dating, they got a lot of abuse from neighbours and had to move to another city.
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11 online activities | 8-page printable (PDF)
Age Differences - Level 6
A TV channel in the UK is under fire from members of the public for one of its programmes that follows the lives of couples with a big age difference. Viewers have accused the Channel 5 series Age Gap Love of "normalising grooming". The complaints came after a show that documented the relationship of a couple who got together when the man was 44 and his partner was 16. The man was originally a friend of the 16-year-old's mother. He became friendly with the daughter when she was a child and started dating her when she turned 16. After this episode was aired, the channel received a flood of complaints from viewers who slammed the show for "making this concept seem normal".
The couple in the show are married and have two children. He is now 47 and she is 19. The man said: "I was concerned what people would think. It's a big gap. It's a generation gap. So it's like, what are people going to think?" His wife also spoke about the relationship. She said: "The age doesn't really bother me. It never has done. I don't see him as an old man, or my dad, or anything like that. He's just sensitive - like a big teddy bear." She added: "I've always wanted to have a family, so I just thought he would be the perfect man." Life has not been easy for the couple. When they first started dating, they received a lot of abuse from neighbours and the local community and had to move to another city.
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25 online activities | 27-page printable | 2-page mini-lesson
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