AIBU to question media reports of Ant McPartlin’s wife’s age?

[TonyMammoth]

Ant McPartlin's wife was born in 1976, but somehow she is 47 according to all the reports in the media. When she got married in 2021 she was 43. How does that work?

OP, I get it. Little things like this feel like a stone in the shoe of my mind.

It’s even more annoying when it’s about something that absolutely does not matter at all, and yet my mind can’t stop picking at it until it knows which bit is wrong - the birth year, or the current age. I’d need to look it up.

I chalk it up to having been a proofreader in my formative years 🤣

Journalists often get things wrong. In the grand scheme of things it’s not a big issue though, is it? I can’t imagine many people are bothered how old she is.

Thing is, because she is not a celebrity, there is no record of her age anywhere. Journos will have guessed and will know friends of friends so various different ages will have been printed.

The media is awash with lazy journalism and petty inaccuracies these days. Luckily this one is inconsequential. Sadly crap reporting isn't always so benign.

Same as Katie Price 🤪

My friend was in a news article that incorrectly reported her age as 37. She was from the same school year as me, but it hasn't been her birthday yet, so she must be 36.

I still had to mentally add up whether I made a mistake and that I wasn't in fact 38!

My mum's age is a perpetual mystery in our family. She usually lies and says she's the same age as my dad, but we know that she's anything between 6-10 years older.

Look her up on Free BMD if you really want to know.

I remade a child going to visit a relative whose kids were friends with a child who later became a minor celeb/soap actor and we all played out together.. She was older than me or at least the same age but if she’s ever referred to online she is now younger than me.

Why does it matter

WTAF??

how can you possibly give head space to a celebrity's wife's age? It's not even as if they've said she's 21 or 93... and even then.

why have you even given it a passing thought?

Just googled and they got married in August 2021. So if her birthday is anywhere between today and the marriage date then she would be 47 .

Either way people shaving a few years off their ages is hardly unusual! Didn't paloma faith got found out for taking half a decade off?

It is a bit of a silly thing to do in this day and age when information can be found so easily, but if anything we should be criticising the social expectations that mean women, particularly those in the public eye, feel they need to do that.

Nah, I think that's the wrong way round. You add 20 years to your real age, then people are amazed how young you look 😆

If that is all that is worrying you then congratulations. And why is it in AIBU?

I had a celeb friend and it’s routine for their PR to shave a few years off to keep them younger. Her age was all over the place.

TBH it’s pathetic. And disingenuous to other women (it’s always women)

I forgot my own age once...for a full 5 months I was telling people I was 2 years younger than I actually was until my partner corrected me😂. The funny thing was it was in response to new colleagues thinking I was like 10yrs younger than I was (its hard to age fat people)

maybe she lies about her age like his friend’s ex wife

BHF it is not worrying me, it's not that important, it's just something I noticed and thought it was curious. The title of the post was a Mumsnet AI suggested one.

No she isn't a celebrity. No it is not important. No it doesn't matter really. Yes it is interesting how women and their ages and looks are represented in the press. To be fair though men's ages are mentioned. Even with fibbing (let's face it, she could have corrected all these incorrect reports over the years, but would you?!) she is still younger than her husband.

Though I did have a look on Find My Past.

Bit weird you hunting down for proof OP.

Someone suggested it up thread. Of course, people are often accused of being:

Unhinged
Weird
Obsessed
Invested
Worried
Concerned

about something absolutely simple. But that's good old Mumsnetters for you!

Sorry if someone already mentioned this, but all I can think of is the bit in Hot Fuzz where they go, “He reported she was 55!” “When I’m actually 53!” Such a great film, and so on the nose about those belonging to “The Village Green Preservation Society.”

I was confused when I saw an article earlier this year about Emma Bunton's 50th birthday, because I distinctly remembered her being a teenager in the Spice Girls' heyday. Turns out the record company told her to knock a few years off her age. There are also long-running rumours that Geri Halliwell lied about her age to get into the group in the first place, and has now spent decades claiming to be three or four years younger than she is.

Someone I work with was reading out her personal email address for someone to send something on and the email account has 1970 in it, she said it wasn't her year of birth though it was just a random number suggested by yahoo, then someone else chipped in saying take it as a compliment if anyone thinks you were born in 1970 when she icily replied "I was born in 1976"

Oh now thats just a bit creepy!

Terry Seymour (who dated Simon Cowell) was a year above me at school. Now she’s 3 years younger. They all lie.

My bad - I just skimmed the thread.