A “cougar” is a mature woman who’s interested in dating a younger man. There are lots of benefits of dating a cougar, but at the same time, such a relationship might have some difficulties, too. Here, we’ll tell you everything about dating cougars—pros and cons, dating tips, interesting facts, etc.

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What’s it like dating a cougar?

Cougars know what they want. This can be applied to everything, from relationship goals to their life goals—in most cases, they have already overcome their indecisiveness and understand what they really want.
In most cases, such a relationship is not going to be long-term. Yes, some older women want to get serious with a young man, but according to our experience and to what some real people say, in most cases, cougars and their young partners are in different seasons of their lives and date each other just for fun.
Such relationships are not that common, but we can’t say that they are extremely rare to see. Thus, around 8% of heterosexual couples have an age gap of 10 years or more, and around 1% of them have an age difference of 28 years or even more. This might not sound impressive, but taking into account that around 69% of US adults (144,210,000) are in a certain kind of relationship, it turns out that around 1,400,000 people are in a relationship with a very large age gap!

Pros

When you’re dating a cougar, there’s little to no drama in your relationship. They don’t play games when they want to say something, and things are pretty straightforward and direct when you’re in a relationship with a cougar. They have already lived through it, and they just don’t enjoy it anymore.
Cougars are independent and financially stable. We are not talking about “sugar mommas” here, it’s just that when you’re dating a cougar, you shouldn’t worry about supporting her financially or about paying for each and every date.
They are more sexually experienced than younger women, and this can make your sex life much more interesting than you thought. According to a study led by the assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, sex gets better for lots of women in their 40s and 50s!

Cons

Older women might be pretty assertive when it comes to a relationship with a younger man. They have much more life experience than their partners, so they sometimes feel like this justifies assertiveness.
You’ll have different things to worry about and different things to be happy about. A man in his 20s and a woman in her 40s or 50s are in different life stages, they have different goals, and their values are often different, as well.
If you want children, this will probably not work. The reasons might vary—for some, it’s about being in menopause, while for others, it’s about simply not wanting more kids. But the fact remains that you shouldn’t expect to have kids in a relationship with a cougar.

Successful tips on dating a cougar

Want some really useful tips for dating a cougar? We have the top 4 of them here—just follow them all and you’ll impress almost any mature woman.

Be spontaneous and interesting. She has probably met a lot of boring guys, and she doesn’t want to meet another one. Be spontaneous and exciting, have a surprise night date, make it fun for her, and make her life a bit more adventurous—that’s how you keep a cougar interested.
Don’t call her a “cougar”. Some women find this term offensive because it highlights the age difference between you, and that’s certainly not what they want to hear. After all, there are many ways to name your couple, so following this rule is quite simple.
Be open-minded. You’ll most likely have different interests and tastes in everything, from movies and music to food and wine. However, this can be great if you are open-minded enough—don’t be afraid to try new things, develop your tastes, and embrace new concepts. That’s how you’ll bring out the energy in your partner and make your relationship more interesting for both of you.
Don’t try to act older than you are. That’s another important thing you need to understand before you start dating a cougar woman—they don’t want to date “younger men who act older or more sophisticated than they are”, they just want to date younger men, with all their advantages and disadvantages. This doesn’t mean you should act childish, of course—just be yourself and don’t pretend to be who you are not in a relationship with a cougar.

Thanks to these simple tips, you will be able to maintain a passionate relationship with your cougar without unnecessary misunderstandings. And after all, she’s just a woman, so attention, a few compliments, and sincerity will help build a healthy relationship.

Joshua Harrington

Author

Meet Joshua Harrington—an author who knows everything (or almost everything) about online dating. He also creates the fullest and the most comprehensive reviews of online dating sites, and we highly recommend checking them out!