Dating Someone Your Own Age? You're Smarter, Hotter, and Richer, Says Study

Attention all cougars, boy-toys, sugar daddies, and everyone else looking to date way outside of your age bracket: It could be time to wise up.

A new study conducted at the University of Colorado Boulder shows couples with large age discrepancies aren't the Hollywood happy endings we imagine them to be (cue Simon & Garfunkel's Mrs.Robinson).

Instead, overall, people who marry someone significantly older or younger have lower earnings, are less educated, and are less attractive compared to those who marry someone their own age.

"Hugh Hefner is an outlier," says Hani Mansour, Ph.D, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Colorado Denver. Apparently. The study found that men who shack up with women who are significantly older or younger (cough, cough, Hef) make less money than those married to women of a similar age.

And if that not-so-bulging-bank-accounts wasn't enough of a confidence crusher for guys who may be trying to mac on young thangs, a slew of intelligence tests conducted showed that men married to women at least eight years younger scored an average of 8.4 points less than those with wives of a comparable age.

The only findings not particularly eyebrow-raising are that boy-toys of the Ashton Kutcher variety are more attractive than those in other age groups.

“Overall, the estimates indicate that individuals married to differently-aged spouses are less attractive than those married to similarly-aged spouses, with the possible exception of men married to older women,” said researchers of the study.

So older women want hot, young, chiseled men? That's no surprise. What we are surprised about is that men aren't as picky about the younger women they select to bunk up with, according to the study. Looks like we may be the more discriminating sex, after all.

Another surprising find from this study is that while the term cougar has been more popular in the past few years than Andy Cohen at a Real Housewives reunion, it's no hot new trend.

“We really didn’t find any evidence of a new cougar phenomenon,” a researcher for the study said. “Although their share has slightly increased over time, cougars have been among us since the 1960s.” Word.

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Photo Credit: Getty Images

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Korin Miller
Korin is the site director for Cosmopolitan.com. She loves uncovering cool new research and learning more about what makes guys tick. Outside the Cosmo office, you can find her running with her dog, trying to convince friends to go to karaoke bars, and watching as much reality TV as humanly possible. Hit her up on Twitter: @korinmiller
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Michelle Ruiz
Michelle is the news editor for Cosmopolitan.com. She's obsessed with interviewing celebrities and spotting the latest pop culture trends. Her life highlights include chatting with Ryan Gosling about sex dolls, dancing on stage at the Oprah show, and shopping with her mom on Long Island. Tweet her: @michelleruiz
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Dara Adeeyo
Dara is the associate web editor for Cosmopolitan.com. She's intrigued by all things digital. Dara loves playing with html and discovering new studies. When she's not reading up on the latest cocktail recipes (for work, of course), she can be found breaking it down on the dance floor or watching the Investigative Discovery channel. She also has a sick obsession with nail polish, elephants, and most importantly, Nutella. Dara basically lives on Twitter, so tweet at her and say hey: @dadeeyo.
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Elisa Benson
Elisa Benson is the senior editor of social media for @Cosmopolitan?so, yes, she tweets about sex for a living. Elisa grew up in Ohio, attended Colgate University, and wrote love and relationship advice for Seventeen before graduating to Cosmo. She lives for girly things (weddings and eyelash extensions and Pretty Little Liars?) and frequently tweets about all of the above: @elisabenson.
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Korin Miller
Korin is the site director for Cosmopolitan.com. She loves uncovering cool new research and learning more about what makes guys tick. Outside the Cosmo office, you can find her running with her dog, trying to convince friends to go to karaoke bars, and watching as much reality TV as humanly possible.
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Michelle Ruiz
Michelle is the news editor for Cosmopolitan.com. She's obsessed with interviewing celebrities and spotting the latest pop culture trends. Her life highlights include chatting with Ryan Gosling about sex dolls, dancing on stage at the Oprah show, and shopping with her mom on Long Island. Tweet her: @michelleruiz
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Contact Michelle

Dara Adeeyo
Dara is the web assistant for Cosmopolitan.com. She's intrigued by all things digital. Dara loves playing with html and discovering new studies. When she's not reading up on the latest cocktail recipes (for work, of course), she can be found breaking it down on the dance floor or watching the Investigative Discovery channel. She also has a sick obsession with nail polish, elephants, and most importantly, Nutella. Dara basically lives on Twitter, so tweet at her and say hey: @dadeeyo.
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Find all posts by Dara
Contact Dara

Elisa Benson
Elisa Benson is the senior editor of social media for @Cosmopolitan?so, yes, she tweets about sex for a living. Elisa grew up in Ohio, attended Colgate University, and wrote love and relationship advice for Seventeen before graduating to Cosmo. She lives for girly things (weddings and eyelash extensions and Pretty Little Liars?) and frequently tweets about all of the above: @elisabenson.
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Fans of the Denver Broncos were shocked earlier this week when the organization announced that they were dropping their star quarterback Tim Tebow for Peyton Manning. And just yesterday, the New York Jets announced they’re signing Tebow.

The Jets already have a star QB—Mark Sanchez. And, just like Tebow, he has a massive fan following, especially with women.

Both guys are really cute, which naturally, made us wonder…which quarterback do you think is hotter? Most of you guys have already told us you're into Tebow, but Mark's charm and sexiness makes it a tough choice. And, since they’re both competing for the same job, which do you think is a better quarterback?

Tell us below.

Photo: Getty Images Sport

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With just days left until the Super Bowl XLVI, comparisons between New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and the New York Giants’s Eli Manning are heating up—which QB has the best throwing arm? Who has the most pass completions? Who has the most rushing yards? Who is hotter?  

Okay, we threw in that last one, but, really—we know you’re thinking it. That’s why we polled almost 2,000 of you online to get your take. (Since that many of you responded, we’ll take that as proof you care.) The verdict: Tom Brady’s the one who sets most hearts on fire. Seventy percent of you think Gisele’s man is hotter than Eli. And 63 percent of you think he’s a better quarterback.  

We had you weigh in on the game, too, and you were basically split on which team you want to win on Sunday. That said, 61 percent of you still think the Patriots are going to go home with the Vince Lombardi trophy.

Who are you rooting for on Sunday?

Photo: Doug Pensinger, Jim Rogash/Getty Images Sport

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