We’ve heard that famous divorcee and actress Ellen Barkin was dating a much, much younger guy, but I assumed it was just a fling. Re-reading an article on this that Bedhead covered in June, I realized that Ellen has lived with her young lover for two years and that they’ve been together for four years! Things seem really serious between the two no matter the age difference.There’s a new tabloid report that Ellen popped the question during a romantic beach stroll. If the roles were reversed and Ellen was a rich old 57 year old dude with a fiance 31 years his junior would we think twice about it? Probably not.
Ellen Barkin, 57, is so smitted with her 26-year-old director beau Sam Levinson that she popped the question – and the two are planning an early 2012 wedding, sources say.
“Ellen is madly in love with Sam and wants to spend the rest of her life with him,” a close pal told The Enquirer.
“She proposed marriage while they were walking on the beach on late afternoon in August. Sam didn’t skip a beat before accepting. ”
Even better, the groom-to-be has the blessing of his father – Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson – who guided Ellen in her breakout role in the 1982 classic “Diner…”
[Ellen] has previously been married to billionaire businessman Ron Perelman and Irish actor Gabriel Byrne, father of her 21-year-old son Jack and daughter Romy, 18.
She’s dated Sam for four years…
“It will be an intimate ceremony in Manhattan,” said the pal about the upcoming wedding. “They’re both so happy that Ellen says she and Sam are even considering adopting a baby!”
[From The National Enquirer, print edition, October 3, 2011]
The Enquirer usually gets it right when they cover the not-so-popular celebrities, so I would bet this one is accurate. It skeeves me out in the their age difference is exactly the same as my son and me, but at least Ellen’s son is a whole five years younger than her boyfriend and isn’t around the same age. (That’s sarcasm-lite. Like I meant to be sarcastic there but realize that I did have a minor point to make that isn’t convincing at all.)
This reminds me of Sam Taylor-Wood and Aaron Johnson, who have a 23 year-old age difference, but they got together when he was just 18. At least Ellen’s boyfriend was all of 22 when he hooked up with her. (Again, I’m kind of torn on whether I’m being sarcastic. They’ve been together long enough for this relationship to be legit at least.) I have a live and let live attitude usually but this does seem strange to me. My kid is little now but I totally think I would throw a fit if he reached 20-something and wanted to marry a woman my age. Anyway… go Ellen?
They’re posing here with Kate Bosworth because she stars along with Ellen in Sam’s directorial debut, Another Happy Day, which was shown at the Deauville film festival. (These photos are from 9/4/11. Credit: WENN)
You go Ellen!
It’s not healthy or anything but who am I to judge. The boy is too young for me and I am in my thirties. But as long as they are happy it’s none of my beeswax.
They look miserable in these pics.
Boyfriend looks like a lost puppy. A sexy, frisky, puppy who needs to hem his pants.
I do NOT approve of marrying minors to legally gloss over pedo behavior. Otherwise, age differences do not concern me in the least. These May December couples know it usually doesn’t last, so I hope they have a realistic prenup and totally enjoy it while they’re happy!
Sometimes a boy just needs a mommy…..wonder if he’s close with his mother?
Wow…yeah, @Happymom, I agree w/you…they all look miserable in the pics.
That is a surmountable age difference…but, just like @mln76, I’m not involved…so there you go…whatever floats their boat.
He looks like he’s wearing his dad’s clothes and sleeping with his stepmom.
I’m liking the juicy headlines today!
I smell a Bravo reality show in the making. Andy Cohen must be salivating for Sam.
Do they ever think what will happen in 30 years from now? Or maybe they don’t, b/c it’s Hollywood and most relationships last as long as a PR stunt?
im saying good for her… he is an adult so is she…. 4 yrs is longer than most adult relationships, it works for them so why not?
Not “go Ellen?” but “Go Ellen!”
Sorry, in most cases this age difference would be tres creepy, but I love her, so I’m giving her a pass here.
Love is hard to find, so if its true love good for them. The thing that throws me the most about these relationships with massive age differences, is what happens in the future? Now she may be healthy and fit, but what about when she is 75 and he is 44? That’s where things get dicey! When she needs a new hip and he has a mid-life crisis!
I don’t know if I can say good for her. She’s was 53, he 22 when they met.
That is only 4 years off the age difference between Courtney Stodden and what’s his name. 51 and 16. Yeah, I know he’s over 18, but the ages are pretty close.
It all kind of grosses me out. Not one person will ever say, Go, Doug. That is his name, right?
@Original Tiffany, I was about to make the exact same comparison. Good thing I read the comments first. I don’t LIKE Courtney Stodden AT ALL, but the age difference isn’t that far off. Yes, he’s legal, but it’s still pretty damn close. And nobody is shouting pedaphilia here.
Seems to be an epidemic in Hollywood. I think it’s a fear of getting old. Funny how it’s the woman who has the money in these situations.
Well, I can say “Good for her” if only because it’s got to enrage her dirtbag ex- husband to know she’s spending HIS money on a much much younger man. Even though the guy did have exquisite taste in jewellery.
Nobody is shouting pedophilia here because it’s impossible with a 22 year old man. – that’s not what pedophilia is.
Pedophilia is usually defined regarding prepubescent kids – so even with that 17 year old girl (who is SO gross!!)it’s only statutory rape (not to talk down the severity of it.) She’s considered an adolescent.
I just want her to stop effing with her face.
well if she was a man it would be okay, so i wish her luck. me, personally, i’m 53 and my son is 29…so i just couldn’t do this. i’d feel like a pedophile.
@katyusha-I have a hard time proclaiming Doug Whatshisface to be a pediphile, when his 17 year old wife has an adult body. She isn’t prepubescent looking at all. She’s more built than the 22 year old pictured above. Does it make Doug & Courtney right? No…it’s still icky. But a 22 year old and a 57 year old is also still icky.
If this helps, Ellen was 51 when Sam was 16…just like Courtney & Doug. It’s creepy. Regardless of the fact that he’s an adult.
I was prepared to make a snarky comment. But, then I got a good look at the boy, I mean man, and well let me join the chorus of Go ELLEN! He is gorgeous. I can’t hate on her for going after that. I’ve never really understood huge age differences between couples, because what do you have to talk about? There are no cultural touchstones that can be referenced. In situations like this I always think about that scene in When Harry met Sally when Harry is asked about his younger girlfriend. And he says when he mentioned Kennedy being shot, she said “Ted Kennedy was shot?” Different worlds.
When I was 43 I met a young man of 30(just). We dated for a few weeks and then he had to return to his business in another state.I had be married for 20 years to someone that very rarely made me smile. Although this guy was a great date, I couldn’t see it going anywhere.Then he started to call me every Friday night to see how I was doing. About 6 months later I went up to visit him and it hit me- I fell in love! Not that I told him, but I got that old, happy feeling again. It makes you smile all day and lets you enjoy life again. We married after 3 years,but I didn’t feel comfortable for years when we were out together-I always had the fear of the waiter asking him ‘And what will your mother have?’. Too bad I wasted that time. After 7 years, we divorced due to family issues. That was 6 years ago & neither of us has dated anyone. We live on different continents,talk too long on the phone for ex’s, but our hearts are still one. Life is tough,if you can find happiness GRAB IT!
She is way to old for him, sorry but this won’t last!
I guess she can’t adopt him, since he will be sleeping in her bed. Ellen was probably so controlled by her previous husband that she likes being in the controlling position now.
I think it’s creepy whether it’s an older man or an older woman. In another 5-10 years he will be seeing things differently. Right now he’s flattered that he has the guidance of a much older woman. Oh wait, isn’t that a mother’s job?
I guess go Ellen. He’s cute but like Skaarsgard he suffers from tiny mouth.
It’s a bit odd that his father, who directed her in her first film is all yeah go for it. Say huh? You’d think the dad would be encouraging his son to play the field with girls his age.
Unfortunately for Ellen this is not going to end well for her. Younger boys may be all into Mrs. Robinson when they’re younger and starting out (getting the good from a more experienced woman), but when she’s 60 and he’s not even 30 he’s going to be jonesing for some younger chicks, not his saggy, wrinkled wife at home. She may want to spend the rest of HER life with him, but I doubt he wants to spend the rest of HIS with her.
If she can hold the control like she has been it might work, but pretty soon he’ll get tired of her mothering him (ick) and will want to be the one in control. And when Ellen starts sagging and he starts growing older yet more better looking (as men often get better with age), she’s going to lose that control and become an insecure mess. Exit hot young piece.
He looks like a deeply confused Tom Cruise in the first pic, and a deeply confused dark haired River Phoenix in the second pic.
Common denominator: deep confusion.
The May December romances don’t last because the December half usually drops dead pretty quick.
If Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp had a baby together, this guy is what he would look like.
“(as men often get better with age)”
Honey, no they DON’T. Rarely, if ever. If anything, women get better with age.
he is not hot. Someone as rich as Ellen should be with the hottest young piece possible. That Men’s Warehouse suit?!?! Just yuck.
I’m guessing she’s not too worried about how long the marriage will last. I think celebrities just like to get married so they can have a party and some publicity, feel more secure and not so alone. I personally think an older woman’s drive matches better with a younger man’s, sue me.
I don’t think it’s that socially acceptable for an old man to date a decades younger women. They get mocked and looked askance at as well, and personally i don’t find this empowering as a woman; maybe in a few decades. this is one of the less baffling examples, though; Ellen Barkin is sexy and interesting, and he seems like the brooding old soul type.
Is this a joke???
Not only is he a successful film director himself but the son of one so he’s not like Madonna’s bimbo boytoys! I bet this pairing has made so many men in Hollywood feel pretty insecure!
Look, he’s gorgeous, successful and part of Hollywood royalty – clearly he could have anyone, yet this has lasted 4 yrs. So I would say it looks like truelove!
EWWWWWWW!!!!
With age differences this big between no matter if the man is older or women is older, they are never to be taking seriously. I think she should have fun with him but realize this is not going to last forever, not because Ellen is older because she is hot but there is a difference between a 50 something year old and a 26 year old and it’s not just age. It’s every thing priority etc.
With age differences this big between no matter if the man is older or women is older, they are never to be taking seriously. I think she should have fun with him but realize this is not going to last forever, not because Ellen is older because she is hot but there is a difference between a 50 something year old and a 26 year old and it’s not just age. It’s every thing priority etc.
Ick. Any age difference greater than 20 years is pushing it in my book. 30 years…that’s just gross, and I don’t care whether the older person involved is a man or woman.
As long as both are legal consenting adults I don’t care but I just don’t get these kind of relationships. I’m 26 and I can barely stand most 21 year olds. I get that he may be more mature or whatever but I just don’t understand what they have in common.
Trashaddict: I agree. I don’t think if they get married it means it’s serious. These guys get married and divorced in a span of a few months like it’s nothing.
I don’t understand how he can look at her face, nevermind sleep with her. So gross.
It’s ignorant to believe that only men can date younger women. They probably have a lot more in common and are having more fun than you think. Some of you sound jealous. I say it’s not illegal, they are not hurting anyone, so let them enjoy!
it is not their age difference that is creepy/wromg. it is the fact that she’s friend with his father so presumably she might have actually watch him grow up which adds an ick factor.
I don’t think an age difference should be prohibitive as long as both understand the possible complications, different world views, etc. If it’s real love we’re talking about who are we to scorn theirs or anyone’s true happiness.
I’m dating a much younger man. I’m 18yrs.older than he is. He really had to convince me that our age difference wasn’t a problem for him. I’m no cougar and before him, I dated men older than me. I accept that he cannot relate to some things because he hasn’t experienced them and he accepts that I cannot relate to certain things because things happen to be different now than when I was his age. I felt sadness when people stated that Demi & Ashton were doomed because of age. Age has nothing to do with it. A cheater is a cheater at any age. Most people around us don’t know the age difference because he looks a bit older than 26 and I look a lot younger than 44, but I know the moment our ages are known, almost every nice thing said about us as a couple will be revisited and revised. It’s so damn hard to find love and as long as he/she is old enough to drink legally, what’s the BFD?
The boy is cute. Barkin looks good. Why such a distance between the boy and Bosworth?
It looks wrong! He looks like her son. Why do some woman put themselves through this when it always ends badly.
That’s exactly what I want to do, I’ll make sure to get a prenup!! She’s my new role model.
‘If the roles were reversed and Ellen was a rich old 57 year old dude with a fiance 31 years his junior would we think twice about it?’
Yes, yes we would. There is as much of an uproar when a teenage-twenties girl dates a 40-50 year old man as when the roles are reversed. I’m sick of reading this on every cougar story!
Sorry, no matter how much I try, Barkin looks like his mom in both pics. Her waxen face and lips don’t help.
It makes me sick how people judge others. Yuck? I know some pretty darn ugly 20-30 somethings…So youth doesn’t make one beautiful or handsome. Pedophile? Anyone who thinks she is a pedophile for dating a grown man is ignorant and this explains your revulsion.I personally wouldn’t date a man 30 years younger, but that is only because of a sick and ignorant society that feels it has a right to judge what other’s do. If he was a boy, then yes that would be wrong. But this is a MAN with a career. Who the heck are we to judge what they feel or don’t feel. We can’t help who we love, we just love them!
come on, NO we would not think the same thing if the roles were reversed. it is such a double standard, we don’t blink an eye (and really, we shouldn’t, as long as the person is old enough, mature enough, it doesn’t matter about age) when it’s a man with young girl. how about we try something new, and just stay the fu** out of people’s business, no matter what the hell they are doing
So few people posting here have any insight into whats going on. Simply, older men treat women rather horridly. Younger post feminist men are very very different. fewer secrets, greater respect, and certainly greater sexual compatibility. I could mention depressed jaded older men are a drag to be around, I could go on and on about spiritual things, and certainly there are challenges, but I dont doubt their sincerity at all. I believe that the mind set of first wave feminist women are reallly a unique subset of females. its very much a mental thing. As well as mind blowing sex. Older women have much higher sex drive.
So few people posting here have any insight into whats going on. Simply, older men treat women rather horridly. Younger post feminist men are very very different. fewer secrets, greater respect, and certainly greater sexual compatibility. I could mention depressed jaded older men are a drag to be around, I could go on and on about spiritual things, and certainly there are challenges, but I dont doubt their sincerity at all. I believe that the mind set of first wave feminist women are reallly a unique subset of females. its very much a mental thing. As well as mind blowing sex.
I find this rather interesting. For almost a year I too have been dating someone 31 years younger. Although I never came straight out and told my family, they see its quite obvious. I am unsure how long it will go on. We do love each other. I am not wealthy, and he is a college student. We speak every day and see each other 1 to 2 weekends a month since he left for university. I am weary of telling friends because of the judgements. As much as I want it to work, unlike Hollywood, my situation is totally unacceptable in society. We are just ordinary folk in a small town which makes it even worse. I tell him often someday he will want what I had in life and I feel like I am robbing him of the opportunity. It is always in the back of my mind that it will be short lived. No matter what happens I really do want him in my life forever.