16 year old darts player and his 21 year old girlfriend.

[Witchcraftandhokum]

I'm no darts fan but I've seen loads about this new player Luke Littler who is 16 and is doing very well. His girlfriend is 21, am I the only one who rinks this is inappropriate? (Despite the fact that he looks about 38).

I don’t have a strong opinion on the age difference, really, but the repeated posts accusing posters on here of ‘attacking’ the guy are just ridiculous. And I don’t think earning large amounts of money and being under adult pressures is any guarantee of maturity. That precise combo seems to mess a lot of people up (but not others) so I’m not sure why he’d be any more or less suited to a relationship with someone older than the ‘average joe’.

You could just as well argue that a gifted 14 yo studying at Oxford is ready for all the things other students will be doing just because they have a precocious academic talent. They very demonstrably are not.

Your consumption of media sounds quite narrow if you think little of the attention is about his talent. There has been acres (old fashioned measure I know) of coverage of it

"the repeated posts accusing posters on here of ‘attacking’ the guy are just ridiculous"

Are they? Gary Anderson took the media to task over it just days ago. He's watching it play out in real time. Why do you think you're a bigger authority that someone who is there and living it on what's "just ridiculous"?

The lad’s just got through to the final. Absolutely amazing for someone that age to have such confidence.

Just watched him win again, he's brilliant. As for the matter of his older girlfriend, I think the fact he looks and sounds far older than 16 is very relevant to this and can understand why a young woman of her age is attracted to him. And it doesn't feel off to me, although in other circumstances I can see that the age gap could be seen as inappropriate.

But what I do think is off is that these two young people might have very dented mental health after being thrown into the limelight and having their lives scrutinised and torn apart. At least the media attention isn't putting Luke off his darts. Hope he takes the title.

He's very grown up for his age in every respect.
He is spending his time in an adult world and has been for several year.

If he had a 15 year old girlfriend who actually looked 15 everyone would be slagging him off for that given he looks about 35!

That was a bloody amazing semi final performance. Fair play to him

I’ve only seen articles about his talent and achievements. I only looked up his older girlfriend when I read it here and I saw a post the other day saying he looked older than 16. Nothing else. Not denying it’s happening as this is what the media do. It’s shit. BUT, a 21 year old dating a 16 year old is creepy and people are going to talk about it. It shouldn’t be acceptable so I’m glad to read people feel it’s wrong and are talking about it. I’d be worried if society saw this as ok.

Watching his interview on sky sports just now he seems pretty humble and mature.

It’s precisely the fevered tone of posts like this that I find ridiculous!

I don’t mind admitting that I know next to nothing about the lad in question, the world of darts or who Gary Anderson is, let alone claiming to be an authority on any of it.

But I can form the view that accusing people who find a 21 yo dating a 16 yo distasteful of attacking the latter isn’t logical. I’ve read tonnes of age difference threads on here that have sod all to do with darts players, and the views on this thread align pretty much with everything else I’ve seen on the topic.

She is not his GF, but apparently a best friend, supporting him.

Watching his interview on sky sports just now he seems pretty humble and mature.

🤦🏻‍♀️ Hes still a 16 year old kid though. And she’s still an adult.

My oldest son is 16 and the darts player looks at least double his age. He doesn’t appear to be anything like my boy or his mates who still hang around the park on bikes and play PlayStation. If my son pitched up with a 21 yr old woman I would think it was seriously off but it doesn’t seem as weird for Luke.

16-doing gcses
21-final year of uni

my son is 16 and if he was dating a 3rd yr uni student I would not be happy

Well. The 21 year old has obviously decided the 16 year old is a good bet. No 21 year old young woman is interested in 16 year old boy.

Fame?

He seems mature but he isn't really. He is a lovely young man but still 16 no matter how far he has progressed in the darts. That was very evident a few minutes ago in his post match interview.

There were plenty of 21 (and older) young women who were VERY interested in Messi when he made his debut. Same with all young footballers.

In the nicest possible way its got fuck all to do with anyone else but them.
They are both consenting adults and just because you don't approve doesn't mean it is wrong, it certainly isn't illegal.
Jeez, the papers have built him up , now he's doing well, as per, they are ready to knock him down, please don't help them do that.

no he isnt. Child marriage was made illegal in england and wales last year.

What relevance to anything is the age you can sign up to the army?

Don’t you need parental consent to sign up before 18?

Yes and they aren't deployed until 18

"the views on this thread align pretty much with everything else I’ve seen on the topic."

Which views? The ones that you agree with? 🤣

I was 16 (4 months off 17) when I started dating DH who was 21. We're 37 and 42 now and I don't see any issues.

I was always much older headed than my friends and I'm sure Luke is the same considering his hobby/career will see him spending a lot of time with adults/

I agree wouldn't want my 16 year old Son dating a 21 year old.