The Big Bang Theory’s latest spinoff is hardly the first TV show with a controversial age gap at the center of the story.
Pretty Little Liars, which premiered in 2010, introduced viewers to Aria (Lucy Hale) and Ezra (Ian Harding). While some fans rooted for the fictional couple, many weren’t as thrilled by the problematic aspect of Aria dating her teacher, Ezra.
Over a decade later, Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage focused on the titular couple’s happy ending — despite a 12-year age difference — after the characters met on the Big Bang Theory‘s Young Sheldon prequel.
“It gives Georgie somewhere to go,” Montana Jordan, who plays Georgie, noted to Us in October 2024. “In this new show, Georgie finally gets to show that he’s not just this dumb kid. He actually does have a brain on him. And on Young Sheldon I’m sure he got overlooked a lot. Maybe him being the tire king is his way of showing and proving people that he is not this dumb kid [but a mature adult]. He actually has some brains on him.”
Keep scrolling for TV’s most controversial age gaps over the years:
Aria and Ezra (‘Pretty Little Liars’)
Age Gap: Six years
The most controversial relationship on Pretty Little Liars was between 16-year-old student Aria and her high school English teacher, Ezra, who was meant to be 22 when the show debuted in 2010.
Georgie and Mandy (‘Georgie and Mandy’s 1st Marriage’)
Age Gap: 12 Years
The fictional couple faced many challenges after meeting in season 5 of Young Sheldon. Georgie, who was 17 at the time, lied that he was 21 while 29-year-old Mandy (Emily Osment) pretended to be 25. After finding out the truth, Georgie and Mandy also realized that they were expecting their first child.
Haley and Rainer (‘Modern Family’)
Age Gap: More than 20 years
Haley (Sarah Hyland) had several unpopular onscreen romances but 23-year-old Haley dating Rainer (Nathan Fillion) — who was likely twice her age — took the cake, for sure.
Pacey and Tamara (‘Dawson’s Creek’)
Age Gap: 21 years
The OG student-teacher relationship was Pacey (Joshua Jackson) at age 15 getting involved with Tamara (Leann Hunley), 36 .
Monica and Richard (‘Friends’)
Age Gap: 21 years
While no legal ramifications, Monica’s (Courteney Cox) romance at 27 with Richard (Tom Selleck) at 48 might have landed differently if they didn’t meet when she was a child. Friends also had a startling romance between Phoebe’s brother Frank and his teacher-turned-wife Alice, who was 26 years his senior.
Alicent and Viserys (‘House of the Dragon’)
Age Gap: Nearly 30 Years
Viserys (Paddy Considine) was meant to be around 30 years old when he married Alicent (Olivia Cooke), who was 11 years his junior. The HBO series, however, aged Viserys up to nearly 50 before marrying him off to Alicent on the show.
Paris and Asher (‘Gilmore Girls’)
Age Gap: More than 40 years
During the fourth season of Gilmore Girls, Paris (Liza Weil) was a freshman in college when she started dating Asher (Michael York), a 60-year-old professor who was friends with Rory’s grandfather.
Sookie and Bill (‘True Blood’)
Age Gap: 147 years
OK, here is where Us gets into the supernatural of it all. Sookie (Anna Paquin) was 32 when she met vampire Bill (Stephen Moyer) who was about 179 years old when the show started.
Elena Gilbert and Both Salvatore Brothers (‘The Vampire Diaries’)
Age Gap: 154 years and 161 years
The hit CW series kicked off with Elena (Nina Dobrev) at age 17. The Vampire Diaries followed Elena’s romance with vampires Stefan (Paul Wesley), who was 162, and Damon (Ian Somerhalder), who was 169.
Who doesn’t love a good love story? Girl falls in love with boy, then falls in love with his best friend too, for example. The love triangle has been a frequent plot point in TV and film for years, but there is maybe no more iconic angsty trio than the one between Dawson (James Van […]
Angel and Buffy (‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’)
Age Gap: 225 years
When Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered, its titular character (Sarah Michelle Gellar) was 15 years old. She subsequently started dating Angel (David Boreanaz), a 240-year-old vampire (but he had a soul!).
Rose and The Doctor (‘Doctor Who’)
Age Gap: Nearly 900 years
The Doctor (David Tennant) said he was around 900 years old when he was initially introduced on the show. Rose (Billie Piper), meanwhile, was 19 years old when she joined the sci-fi series as a companion for The Doctor.
Dean and Anna (‘Supernatural’)
Age Gap: Millions of years
Season 4 showed Dean (Jensen Ackles) finding love with an angel named Anna Milton (Julie McNiven). The demon hunter was 26 when the show started, which means he was around 30 when he met Anna. Anna, meanwhile, had been around for millions of years by that point.
