Relationship expert says women should be dating men 10 years older than them

Jake Maddock, who describes himself as Australia's 'tough love dating coach', said men and women mature at different rates, which is why the age gap is necessary.

However, while he describes 10 years as the ideal age gap, he ultimately believes that a relationship can work if a man is five to 10 years older.

But Maddock says he has rarely seen successful relationships between women and younger men.

Maddock explained: "An older man is likely to be less commitment phobic and more decisive about where he wants to take the relationship. He will also have a more mature viewpoint when it comes to solving problems and relationship issues."

Maddock said older men are able to step into their 'masculine energy' and lead a younger woman – an assertive quality which he says can make men more attractive.

"He will have made his mistakes and is unlikely to repeat them. He won't play silly games, he chooses you for better reasons and will appreciate you more," he added.

The relationship expert then cited the Clooneys as an example of why an age-gap is a good thing between men and women.

"George Clooney was clearly very careful about the women he chose to date," Maddock said. "He was still a bachelor at age 52 when he met Amal Alamuddin in 2013. He is seventeen years her senior, which didn't faze either of them."

He cited other examples of well-known couples with substantial age gaps who have gone the distance, despite many Hollywood relationships being short-lived.

"Jerry Seinfeld married Jessica Sklar in 1999, when he was 45 and she was 28," he said. "They are still together.

"Alec Baldwin began dating Hilaria Thomas in 2011, when he was 53 and she was 27. They are still together.

"Harrison Ford began dating Calista Flockhart in 2002, when he was 60 and she was 38. They are still together."

The relationship coach, who is happily married, explained that he learned the hard way how to find a good relationship.

"There was a good 10-year period in my life that was pure hell because I didn't understand relationships at all," he said.

Maddock said that the biggest mistake men are making in their relationships is that they 'aren't good at verbalising their wants and needs, or even understanding them'.

"The greatest mistakes people make are not being intimate enough, not communicating effectively, ignoring masculine and feminine energy, not going on enough dates and disrespecting each other," he said.