Older in Life Romances: What’s The Rush?
I’m a few years from turning 30 and I’ve never really dated or been in a relationship. A late bloomer, if you will. I’m also a very big romantic at heart who consumes many romance books, shows, movies, songs, and fanfictions. Unfortunately, most of them have young people who fall in love, like people in their late teens or early twenties. But there are romance stories with people who are older or later in life which gives me a bit of hope that maybe just one day I might get my love story too, especially so in a world that places so much emphasis on getting married and having children.
Quick note. Some of these pieces of media are spicy (ie, they have adult/18+ content). I’ll mark these with a 🌶️ alongside the title. Also, there might be spoilers ahead but I’ll try to avoid giving any.
Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma 🌶️
There was no way I wasn’t starting this list with something other than this book. I initially bought it because it came out on my birthday (or pretty close to it). And I sort of have a mini tradition, I guess, where I tend to consume/buy a piece of media that comes out around or on my birthday as a gift for myself (2020 was Animal Crossing). It might have just been bought like that, but I fell hard for this book! I love it so much. It just came out this year and I’ve already read it like 2-3 times and own it in multiple formats.
This particular book I think hit hard because the main character (Kareena) had a semi-similar situation to mine. At the beginning of the book, she turns 30. She’s the older sister who is single and has a younger sister that’s about to get married. And of course, there’s the stereotypically South Asian thought that “children” should be married off in order that they were born.
Our Flag Means Death
It’s a queer story about dumb gay pirates. It centers around a man called Stede Bonnet who ran away from his rich landowner life to go become a pirate. Stede in his running away leaves behind a wife and 2 children that are around the age of 10. This might be a show to check on content warnings (CWs) before you watch it if it’s something that might bother you. It is a pirate show so there is some explicit gore/violence.
Bridgerton (specifically S2) 🌶️
Anthony is in his early 30s while Kate is about 26. While Kate might be a bit on the “younger side”, I had turned 26 before watching season 2. And in this show, people (at least the ladies), aren’t really shown dating so I felt seen in Kate between many different factors.
This one had adult content but in a different way and not as much compared to season 1 of Bridgerton.
Big Eden
This is a story about a successful gay artist who comes back to the small town he grew up in to take care of his grandpa. I love how despite this being a movie set in a small town there’s never any judgment/homophobia shown. I don’t think the character’s ages are ever explicitly stated The actor who plays the artist was in his 40s at the time of the movie's release while the love interest’s actor was around his 30s. In the movie they just there doesn’t seem like makeup is done to make them look younger so I take it to be that the actors’ ages are the ages of their characters.
Partners in Crime by Alisha Rai 🌶️
This is a semi-recent book release. It came out in Oct 2022. Partners in Crime’s main character is Mira, who is 35 and well-settled in her career. At first, it seems like a normal rom-com book but then it takes on a twist. The book takes her on an adventure that’s crazy and insane! I had lots of fun reading this book.
Yuri on Ice
This is an ice skating anime, It’s the show that got me into anime. The main character, Yuri is around 23/24 which might be on the younger side. But he also deals with age issues as he’s amongst the older of the ice skaters (if I remember correctly). The love interest is around 27 or 28.
The Way of the Household Husband
This is a manga series that was also turned into a Netflix series. I can only speak for part of the anime as the Netflix series was a bit jarring for me to watch. This has an established romance/married couple but it's about an ex-mafia boss who turns into a household husband and simps for his wife so hard. I’m not sure about their ages but they must easily be in their late 20s to early 30s.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
First of ACAB (All Cops Are Bastards) but this is such a funny sitcom that’s also very diverse. There are quite the age ranges of characters and they all are in different stages of life. For example, the captain of the precinct has been married to his husband for a while in the beginning of the show. Another example, is the main(ish) character, Jake. He’s amongst the only characters to have a stated age. He says is 33, who is single, in one of the first few episodes of the first season and by the end of the show, he has his own family and is closer to 40.
Pushing Daisies
Ahh, how I love this show! It’s about a pie maker called Ned (29) who can bring back the dead to life with a single touch but only for 60 seconds. If the dead person (or animal) stays alive for longer than 60 seconds, then someone else around them dies as a result. With another touch from Ned, the dead person goes back to being dead. Ned pairs up with a detective called Emerson Code to solve deaths. This helps Ned fund his pie store. The first episode is the mystery of the murder of Chuck, his childhood crush. Of course, he revives her to help solve her case but never touches her again so they can be together again. Unfortunately, this show only has two seasons as it was canceled/ended due to the start of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike.
The Good Place
What an iconic show! The show is set in the afterlife. People either go to The Good Place or The Bad Place. Our main character is Eleanor (31) who believes she has accidentally ended up in The Good Places when things go astray on her second day there. Chid (Eleanor’s soulmate), Jason, and Tahani end up involves in the adventures of Eleanor. And oh boy oh boy the way this show goes and the season 1 ending! What I wouldn’t give to rewatch season one without knowing anything.
Honorable mentions:
Drizzle, Dreams, and Lovestruck Things by Maya Prasad
While the central love stories of this book are those of teenagers, there is a bit of a background romance/love story with the dad of the main characters.
Dare to be a Duchess by Sapna Bhog 🌶️
If you liked season 2 of Briderton, this has similar vibes. It has a (half) Indian heroine with enemies to lovers and that regency-ish / late Georgian period setting. This does have a sequel called To Covet a Countess.
Mamma Mia
This one also has side love stories with older characters.
The Mindy Project
This is one is a half-ish rec since I didn’t finish the story and there was a reason for it. But Mindy is in her late 20/early 30s before what I assume is her life partner/end-game couple for the show
Castle
Richard Castle is a dad whose gone through a few different marriages and is a big-shot novelist when the show begins. So I assume he’s in his 30 or 40s
Bones
Temperance Brennan who is sort of the main character, as her nickname is the show’s title is in her late 20s/early 30s before she finds her life partner.