Older Women Younger Men

There is a strange phenomena in my hometown - a lot of my friends are in a older woman younger man relationship. Not only that - some are engaged and some are married. Now if it was only 1 or 2 couples like that, that is not a cause for alarm. But the fact that there are over 5 couples like that in one church does cause me to pause and think what that is.

Not that I have anything against older women younger man (OWYM) relationships. I think it is perfectly fine, but I do think it does make me do a double take in my brain every time I hear of a OWYM relationship. Is it because society is generally older man younger woman (OMYW)? Or am I just hearing from women that they prefer older men?

I think society thinks OMYW makes more sense because men mature later and thus women can relate to older men better than younger ones. However, I think there is also a underlying (correct or incorrect) psychological comfort for the woman knowing that an older man can take care of you better. They feel more secure in an OMYW scenario.

I guess a plus for the OWYM side is that men usually die earlier and thus the woman in the relationship doesn't have to endure widowhood longer than their OMYW counterparts. But then again, what do I know?