Megan Gale copped a hailstorm of criticism when she broke up with comedian Andy Lee in 2010, so she can be forgiven for keeping her new romance quiet.
Now 18 months into her relationship with 24-year-old AFL player Shaun Hampson — a man 13 years her junior — Megan has spoken about her new love for the first time.
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In an interview with the October issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly, Megan praised her young boyfriend, saying he was mature beyond his years.
“The age difference does not bother us at all,” she says. “We make jokes about it. I know there are people who raise their eyebrows at the age difference. But if he was 13 years older than me, no one would mention it.
“No one ever mentions the age difference between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, but it’s the same as between me and Shaun. And I don’t know why that is. Why is there something scandalous about it when the woman is older?
“Besides, at 24, he is far and away more mature than guys I have gone out with who are five and six years older than me. So it doesn’t really matter. He’s focused and mature beyond his years.”
But no matter how well the relationship is going, Megan says she’s not sure she’s “the marrying type”.
Despite this, she does hope to have children in the future and doesn’t believe her age will stop her having a family.
“I have always had this ‘better late than never’ thing going on,” she says. “Whether it be with modelling, with film or my life in general. It always does happen, it’s just always far later than I hoped.
“I would love to be a mum one day — and it’s probably again going to be one of those things that is better late than never, considering I’m 37.
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“And I don’t get too worried about the age factor either because I think women of my generation are having children a lot later. It’s definitely riskier and there are issues, but I think women are really wanting to get a lot of life experience under their belt — whether that be travel or work — and are becoming more certain about who they settle down with.”
Read more of this story in the October issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly.
Video: Megan Gale’s swimsuits
