Tommy Mottola encountered Mariah Carey when he was 41 and she was 20. They married, he at 44 and she at 23.
Bill Clinton was 49 when he began a series of sexual encounters with Monica Lewinsky, then 22.
All three broke the so-called French rule, half the man's age plus 7. All three entered those relationships from positions of power, not equality.
I was outraged by Clinton's escapade, and I would have been without the juicy tidbits about the closet and the desk in the Oval Office. When I accepted a faculty-level administrative position at Georgia Tech in my mid-20s, I was told point-blank not to pursue female undergrads. When I first took a management position in industry, the universal rule was the same: managers don't chase interns.
From all accounts, Angélil and Dion had a good relationship. Not so, of course, with the other two couples. I have no relevant statistics from sociology but my gut says the odds of the outcome that Angélil and Dion enjoyed are very small. And even when it happens, I can't condone the guy's actions. Do we pardon Mary Kay Letourneau for her two felony counts of statutory rape simply because she remains married to Vili Fualaau? I say no. The end does not justify the means.
Besides, real men know that women get better with age.
