Bravo Star Relationships With Big Age Gaps

May-December romances are nothing new in the Bravosphere. Some of the Bravo network's biggest stars have considerable age gaps with their partners — including two marriages from "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" cast alone. "RHOBH" alum Lisa Rinna has been married to Harry Hamlin for almost 30 years, and Crystal Kung Minkoff has been living happily ever after with her older man for nearly two decades. Other notable Bravolebs also believe age is just a number when it comes to true love, including "Ladies of London" alum Caroline Stanbury and Bravo newcomer Kelsey Swanson from "The Real Housewives of Rhode Island."  

But not all of the network's age-gap relationships have seen success. From the "Summer House" cast, Bravo stars Amanda Batula and Kyle Cooke's marriage was never going to last. They had a nine-year age difference and could never seem to get on the same page, so it wasn't too surprising when they announced their separation in January 2026 after 10 years together. Similarly, "Vanderpump Rules" stars Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright, who also had nine years between them, went their separate ways in February 2024. Taylor even admitted on a June 2025 episode of his podcast, "In the Mind of Jax Taylor," that he had a "superiority complex" during their tumultuous relationship due to Cartwright being "a lot younger." Fortunately, though, not all of Bravo's age-gap relationships have crashed and burned — at least not yet.

Former "RHOBH" cast member Crystal Kung Minkoff has been married to husband Rob Minkoff for 18 years, which is almost as many years as their significant age gap. With two entire decades between them, Minkoff met Rob in 2003, when she was 20 and he was 40. They tied the knot four years later, and now share two kids together, a son Max and a daughter Zoe.

But their fairytale romance hasn't been without its share of naysayers due to their noteworthy age gap, including the Bravo star's former castmate Dorit Kemsley. On a 2024 episode of "RHOBH," Kemsley referred to Minkoff as a "child bride" in a confessional, and shaded her for "getting married at 12." (Minkoff was not a "child bride," as she was actually 24 on her wedding day.)

However, Minkoff has said that marrying Rob was the "best decision" she's ever made, as noted in a 2020 Instagram post celebrating their anniversary. She has also said that Rob, an acclaimed Hollywood filmmaker who co-directed 1994's "The Lion King," was at the height of his career when they first met, and was resistant to dating someone so much younger than him. "We would like, go out, and then he would kind of break up with me after every time, like 'I can't be with you. I'm, like, I'm 40,'" the "RHOBH" star recalled on the "Scheananigans with Scheana Shay" podcast in 2023. But for Minkoff, the age difference was never much of an issue. "My parents were 23 years apart," she said on the podcast, "so it wasn't, like, that off to me."

Caroline Stanbury, from Bravo's "Ladies of London" and "The Real Housewives of Dubai" is married to former pro soccer player Sergio Carrallo, who is 19 years her junior. Following her divorce from ex-husband Cem Habib in 2019, Stanbury met Carrallo when he was 24 and she was 43. With almost 20 years between them, the Bravo star has said "not one person" in her life thought it was a good idea at first, per a podcast conversation with Arielle Lorre in May 2025, but she and Carrallo have made it work. They tied the knot in December 2021, and have been thriving ever since. Stanbury even said that finding love later in life has made her 40s her "best era" yet. She has since admitted that the only "big problem" in their age-gap relationship revolves around the prospect of having children together, a hot topic she unpacked on a May 2025 episode of her "Uncut and Uncensored" podcast.

But Stanbury insists that relationships with significant age differences can still work, and even flourish, under the right circumstances. She has spoken out to squash some of the myths about power imbalances in age-gap relationships, including the stigma surrounding finances. During the same podcast episode, the "RHODubai" star addressed the stereotype that the "richer one" in the relationship "just sits around all day and pays for the one that's younger," which she said is "completely not how it works" in real life. "It's not about the money in their account," she said of dating younger partners who have had less time to accumulate wealth. Stanbury said all that matters is that the person has "grit and grind" and knows how to work hard.

While Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin's relationship might be stranger than you realized, the couple doesn't seem to have any shame over the decade-plus age gap between them. Rinna, who turned 62 in 2025, has been married to Hamlin, 12 years her senior, for almost 30 years. Their enduring union stands out as one of the rare, long-lasting marriages in Hollywood. It is perhaps the significant age difference between the two that has helped their relationship stand the test of time. Hamlin told People in February 2022 that being "diametrically opposite" from Rinna is exactly what has secured their success as a couple. "I like going up to the mountains, and her idea of camping is anything below the 10th floor of the Four Seasons," he said.

Rinna has also opened up about the impact age has played on her intimate relationship with Hamlin, especially as they've grown older. While gracing the cover of Cosmopolitan's "Sex After 60" issue in 2024, the "RHOBH" star shared, "I do think that desire levels change for a man. That's just the natural evolution of life. So it's figuring out how to coexist without taking that personally as a woman." She added that adjusting to the sex-life changes that come with age is "more about companionship and about creating space for the ebb and flow of sexuality."

Kelsey Swanson of "The Real Housewives of Rhode Island" has yet to reveal the identity of the mysterious longtime boyfriend she frequently mentions on the show, but the internet is pretty convinced it's John Caprio. He is the son of late judge Frank Caprio, known for the viral courtroom reality TV program "Caught in Providence," and he's reported to be 54 years old in 2026, according to Reality Shrine, while Swanson is 31. This means, if the rumors are true, the two have a 23-year age difference between them.

During one of her confessionals on the premiere of "RHORI" in April 2026, Swanson revealed that her unnamed boyfriend belongs to "one of the most prominent families in the state of Rhode Island." She also shared that she met him when she was 19, and that they have been together for 10 years, though their relationship is admittedly "very unorthodox" and they both still date other people. The speculated romance between Swanson and Caprio is all but confirmed, with social media sleuths tracking down Instagram photos of the pair getting cozy together while attending his daughter Alicia's wedding in September 2024. The Bravo newcomer has confirmed to Swoon that she attended the wedding of her anonymous boyfriend's daughter that month. 

Swanson also told the outlet that her mystery man is "very handsome" and looks good for his age. "This isn't some, like, I'm dating an old, disgusting man. He is very attractive. He takes care of himself. He's active. He's, like, 25 at heart." As for Caprio, he told the press he had "no comment" on the swirling rumors, expressing in a statement with the Providence Journal in early April 2026, "I'm not comfortable answering any questions."