The 51-year-old has been dating 29-year-old David Putman for nearly three years.
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The Great British Baking Show host Alison Hammond has a message for haters of her 22-year age gap relationship with boyfriend David Putman.
The 51-year-old opened up about the criticism she has gotten for dating her 29-year-old beau. For the most part, Hammond is unbothered by the negative attention, noting that “people spend far too much time worrying about other people’s relationships.”
“Mind your business!” she told Attitude magazine in an interview published on Thursday.
She elaborated on her stance, saying, “If two consenting adults are happy, loved, respected and making each other laugh, what exactly is the problem? People will always have an opinion. I’ve learned that you can’t live your life according to everybody else’s opinions because you’ll end up exhausted and miserable.”
Hammond also pointed out the double standard that men and women face when dating younger. Responding to comments calling her a “cougar,” she said that she occasionally embraces the term.
“Sometimes I think it’s funny,” she said. “Sometimes I think, ‘Darling, I’m not a cougar. I’m a whole safari!’ But there is definitely a double standard. A man dates a younger woman and everyone goes, ‘Good for him.’ A woman dates a younger man and suddenly she’s been given a wildlife classification. Let women enjoy themselves!”
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Regardless of the critics, Hammond shared that she is happy with Putman, who she has been dating since 2023. In fact, she shared the secret to their thriving relationship.
“I love that we can make each other laugh,” she shared. “That’s the big thing for me. Life is too short to be in a relationship where you can’t laugh together.”
And their different life experiences can be strengths, too. Hammond believes “those differences are exactly what makes it interesting.” She quipped, “I bring the life experience and he brings the youth. It’s basically a human multi-generational home!”
Before her relationship with Putman, Hammond was previously engaged to cab driver Noureddine Boufaied, with whom she shares an 21-year-old son, Aidan. The couple split in 2014. She also dated gardener Ben Hawkins from 2021 to 2023.
