Last fall, we learned that Henry Cavill, 32, had started dating a university freshman named Tara King. Tara is 19 years old. According to the Daily Mail, they’re still together and he’s even taken her home to meet his family. She’s traveled with him several times, when her school schedule permits, and they really aren’t hiding their relationship at all. Henry has a new interview in Elle Magazine (the issue with Brie Larson as cover girl) and when he’s asked specifically about dating a 19-year-old, his answers are… interesting. I guess. Some highlights from the interview:
Whether he ever had celebrity crushes when he was a kid: “I didn’t really, no. I didn’t have posters up. I still don’t have any crushes on actresses or models. It’s always been one of those things with girlfriends. They say, “Who’s on your list?” What do you call it, the Get Out of Jail Free card? [he’s told it’s a “hall pass”] Every single girlfriend has asked. I say I don’t have a list and they go, “Okay, well I’ve got this person….” And I go, “Stop right there. I don’t need to know who you really want to have sex with. I’m probably going to work with that person.” I just explained this to my girlfriend. She said, “That’s a fair point.”
Whether he’s comfortable being naked on screen: “Are you kidding me? I had to start telling the producers, “Stop making me take my clothes off.” One year they said, “For the publicity shot, we’re going to have you shirtless holding a horse.” I said, “Why the f–k am I shirtless? My character has changed. He’s a morose, depressed dude.” They’re like, “Yeah… but people love it.”Whether he feels objectified: “I don’t consider it being objectified. If people like to see me with my shirt off, it’s enormously flattering. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to take my shirt off all the time.”
Whether he can tell the difference between girls who want him or the ones who want Superman: “One, you never know. Two, if you’re just looking for a shag, does it really matter? And three, are they really different things? I think I have some similar traits or ideology to the character.”
What he talks about with his 19-year-old girlfriend: “Everything. People say, “Age is just a number.” A lot of times it’s not just a number. It’s actually a real and true sign of someone’s maturity. But in this case, she’s fantastic.”
The reaction to their age difference: “It’s a natural reaction. But when I was 19, I was going out with a 32-year-old.”
What he learned from dating an older woman: “Things that I can’t mention in an article.”
When he feels intimidated by a woman: “If someone’s trying to intimidate me, male or female, I don’t respect them enough to be intimidated. But when I first met my girlfriend, I was super intimidated. I wanted to impress her. I was thinking, Don’t mess this up, man. You’ve gotta play your cards exactly right… Everyone doubts themselves. It’s just a matter of admitting it or not.”
[From Elle Magazine via Henry Cavill News]
“A lot of times it’s not just a number. It’s actually a real and true sign of someone’s maturity. But in this case, she’s fantastic.” Is she though? Or is she just 19, blonde and inexperienced? That’s a whole other question though. Here’s the thing – there’s nothing technically wrong or illegal with Henry dating a 19-year-old. They’re consenting adults. And, quite honestly, I think the age difference bugs me so much because she’s in her first year of university/college – I remember what my first year of college was like, and I really didn’t need or want a 32-year-old dude hanging around me. As for the rest of it… very enlightening. He was intimidated by the thought of going up to Tara. He dated a 32 year old when he was 19. And if he’s looking for a one night stand, he doesn’t care if you’re only doing it to bang Superman.
Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.
I was 19 dated my 27 year old (now husband). I’m 35 now, he will be 44. Sometimes it works. 2 kids and married since 2002.
I will always remember when I was 18 and waitressing the summer before college. I met an older waitress there who was wonderful. While I worked with her, her husband passed away. It was very sad. She told me the story of how they met. She was divorced, 30 years old, with a small child. He was 20 years old. Everyone was against them. She said they ignored everybody, because they knew it was right. She said he was a hard worker and great stepfather and father and husband, and that it was a wonderful marriage and true love until the day he died.
I also dated a 32 year old man when I was 19. It lasted two years and we remained close friends until his death. I’m still close to his family. In retrospect he was pretty immature but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.
I can never unsee the Cukoo mess.
Well I’ll give him credit for showing a bit of self-awareness in that he acknowledged that people’s reaction to the age difference is natural–but that’s all I’m giving him.
Something is just “off” with him.
…and then there’s this quote:
“Are you kidding me? I had to start telling the producers, “Stop making me take my clothes off.” One year they said, “For the publicity shot, we’re going to have you shirtless holding a horse.” I said, “Why the f–k am I shirtless? My character has changed. He’s a morose, depressed dude.” They’re like, “Yeah… but people love it.”
Overlooking the obvious humble bragging, it needs to be pointed out that this is the same BS that most women in Hollywood deal with. Sucks doesn’t it, dude?
For me it was ” if you’re just looking for a shag, does it really matter? ” That told me everything I need to know about him…
what would that tell you? there is nothing wrong with that statement.
That was the one that made me double take! It’s like, “Darling, don’t they tell you not to say ‘shag’ in Media Training 101?”
I thought that was honest and true. How many guys have had one-night stands? Most. They don’t really care what got the girl in their bed for the night. It’s not that deep.
I mean but…. is he wrong on that sentiment??? does it matter? I know I look for parity and possibly the maturity to teach me something if i’m looking for a partner, but if I’m looking for strange?? all I want is a nice body with skills and a short refractory period so uhhh 26 and up will do nicely
Also I don’t completely hate that he isn’t trying to George Clooney Upsell me a clear “fun for the moment” piece
I actually liked that part. He was being honest which almost never happens anymore. The celebrities are fed lines to say, they all have “Media 101″training – never tell the truth but instead parrot some pre-approved clichés. It is so boring.
I liked that part and the part about not respecting people who are trying to intimidate you.
Jayna, no “most” guys dont have one night stands as most men arent attractive enough for that. it is common though and also for women. Tinder and Hook up culture are dominated by women and a tiny fraction of very attractive men that have “access” for all the women. when the shaming of women stops we will see that women on average have more casual sex than men and usually way higher sex drives and need for varation. right now statistics are blurred by men increasing about the number of their partners and women decreasing theirs.
Henry is just honest and i dont know any women who feels differently, why would it matter who the guy is as long as he is tall and hot? looks always trump behaviour.
Yeah, on the face of it that statement sounds douchy but I actually dig his honesty here.
Yeah, some of the quotes sounded odd to me — like he consulted a firm on how he thinks guys are supposed to talk or sound (i.e the “hall pass” stuff sounded somewhat weird in tone to me as well as the part where he claims he doesn’t care if people can’t tell the difference between him and Superman).
He does sound self-aware to some extent, but I’m not sure if that’s because he consulted a firm.
He seems harmless enough, so I almost feel a little bad that I’m nitpicking how he sounds.
he seems so empty. he’s one of those actors who should be seen and not heard.
I get the feeling he likes being admired for his looks and not much else under the hood. Like, he needs mirrors all around during shagging to admire his own physique.
Exactly. He’s just so milquetoast.
And just because women face it everyday he can’t complain when it happens to him?
Where in my comment did I say that?
My point was that if women in the entertainment industry have to deal with being objectified on a daily basis, then why should men get a pass?
It’s a superficial and vapid industry that he signed up for and apparently, this is *breaking news* to him. The truth is that if he were a woman, he’d be told that his good looks opened doors for him and he should be grateful for that.
I just found his reaction amusing, as if he’s a character actor of immeasurable soul and depth and how could anyone possibly reduce him to just a pretty face?
*eye roll*
I don’t know. I really liked his interview.
He is sooo…not bright. Wow. All the cuteness fades away once he speaks. And just because he dated a 32 year old when he was 19 doesn’t make it okay. If I roll my eyes any harder at the natural selection comment I might pass out.
Henry Cavill: ‘When I was 19, I was going out with a 32-year-old’
So he should know how that is a power imbalance in terms of life and relationship experience.
You summed up my ramble in a sentence 👏
I mostly like Henry, he seems to be a kindhearted bloke, but I’m wincing in anticipation of the pain that might be around the corner for these two.
Maybe it was a amazing experience so he thinks it may be an amazing experience for her.
Yea….still gross.
I’m in my mid-20s now and I’m just NOW feeling like a stable adult. Lets be real though…at 19 I was in my second year of college just finding myself without my parents. Dating, having fun, living away from home, having my first roommate experience…no way did I have anything in common with someone not in college at the time. And my parents used to call me a “little adult” as a child.
We had a friend that dated someone in their late 30s and he would come as her date to sorority parties and everyone felt super uncomfortable around him. No one danced near them at all because it was like having our dad there. It was so weird.
He looks so much better in regular clothes (and younger).
He looks so uncomfortable in that bulky, oversized, overmuscled body. Yikes.
And when he was 19 he dated a 32-year-old what? Just curious.
-TheRealPinky
“And when he was 19 he dated a 32-year-old what? Just curious.”
I can’t stop laughing at this.
I don’t claim to know if he’s straight, bi or gay; however, that was my first thought exactly. A 19 year old boy with a 32 year old man would be more likely (in my narrow scope) than a 19 year old boy with a 32 year old woman.
I have dated +/- 10 years my own age a lot and have married a guy 8 years younger. When I was 19 I dated guys over thirty. It was fine! I’m not damaged or scarred for life. At that point men my age frustrated me and I sought out different experiences. No judgment here.
I don’t like his looks, he is too bulky for my taste and I don’t like his acting but I like his interviews. I find myself agreeing with a lot things he says.
The expression on her face in that last pic is like, “cant believe I’m missing Vampire Diaries for this”.
I can’t help but laugh at her face in those pictures, she looks so petulant
That looks says “I can’t believe dad dragged me to this stupid thing and I am missing that party Kayleigh is having when her parents are away, ugh everyone else is going to be there even the fit bloke from chemistry”
She certainly doesn’t look too happy in his company, does she?
Not healthy.
Yes, I’m sure it works out happily for a good number of people and congratulations to them for finding their Person.
But, in my opinion (and bear in mind this is just armchair commentary) they’re in completely different places in their lives.
Setting aside the beard theories, she’s a first year student and he’s a 32 year old actor making mega-money in the film industry. Apart from the power imbalance, they can adore each other as much as they like but it’s going to get messy when professional priorities get in way, whether that’s exams or location shoots. A thirteen year age difference can have chemistry, but it’s very unlikely to have that bond and understanding for your partner that makes for a serious relationship.
Maybe I’m just projecting my own bad experience with dating someone who was eight years older than me (as opposed to thirteen) when I was twenty, but that gap between life experiences is a difficult one to bridge.
/End pitiful monologue.
Ew. No. Gross. Boo.
Every creepy guy who’s manipulating a woman always has an excuse.
“She’s mature. She’s having a good time. She knows what she wants.”
Boo, no, boo.
When with all your money and power you still need to find someone just out of her parent’s house to have sex with there’s something DEEPLY fractured about you. It’s called power imbalance for a reason.
+1
+2 Horrible actor – vapid screen presence and weird.
“But when I first met my girlfriend, I was super intimidated.”
Oh, ffs. Every time he opens his mouth, I lose more respect for him. And I didn’t have much to begin with.
same.
his personality is gross to me. i’m not against age gaps, my boyfriend is a good few years older than me, and my parents pass 8 years between each other (my grandparents were 15 years apart), and it always bugs me when i see comments on women over 25 treated as girls and berated for dating older men. but 19 is YOUNG, like proper young. with exceptions, most 19 year olds have way too little life experience to be on the same level as a 32 year old rich actor. go away cavill.
He was joking when he talked about not caring if girls were after him or after Superman, right? The whole bit about being similar to Superman anyway, and it not being important as long as he got what he wanted? Yikes!
She looks a lot like Chelsy Davy.
I was going to say the same thing. They look so similar!
I still hold that his elevator doesn’t go to the top floor. He’s just not bright. As for the mature thing Henry, maybe the lack of maturity is on your part not hers. He was recently on ESPN for BvS and he was dry as a bone. So yes, do I think you need to show your chest, yes, you do. Because he doesn’t have anything to add to the conversation. Have great sex.
It’s not a age difference, it’s a stage difference. Fine, 19 is legal. But there’s a world of difference between a college freshman and a 32 year old adult who has lived through their 20’s and had a career bought a house etc. Maturity level aside, there’s just life you haven’t lived yet.
Well said!
I agree. But what if she’s just dating him and having fun? She’s not living with him and has her own life, so hopefully is maturing in the way she should, developing her own identity. If she quit college and moved in with him and was living through him, I would be worried at that age.
He seems bland to me, so she’s probably the one that has him wrapped around her finger, not vice versa.
He’s so bland. I don’t get the appeal of him whatsoever at any age.
I think I’m going to hurl. If you have to qualify your relationship with someone by saying “they’re mature for their age”, you know what your doing is wrong/gross.
Absolutely. Once you pull out the they are so mature or well it is legal card.. you are doomed.
Men who date barely legal girls do it for following reasons and no amount of reasoning makes it less gross and predatory: control, easily impressable, easily manipulated and exploitation. What’s the difference between a 17 and a 19 year old if age is only a number?
The life expierence at 19 and 32 will never be the same and the power imbalance between men in women regardless of age will always make these type of relationships alarming.
You missed “men that just don’t want to work that hard.”
If he truly dated a 32 year old at 19, then he knows what it is like to be with a grown a$$ woman with her own life, likes, needs, career, opinions and expectations. And a grown a$$ woman would not be afraid to express those things.
I’m struggling to figure out what exactly could have been intimidating about the 19 year old woman. Mature or not, no 19 year old woman is a grown a$$ woman. Period. And I was an old, mature and wise a 19-year-old myself once. I was still a kid. No 19 year old will be as challenging as a woman of the same generation or older. What kind of effort does have to make with this gal? Not much.
My guess is she’s got the hard to get game down pat. Her M.O. is probably “I can take you or leave you, doesn’t matter to me, Superman.” Which is not what he’s used to if he is carelessly shagging women who only want to bag the Man of Steel.
Oh, honey, no.
On a very shallow note: such a waste of (former) pretty.
Something nice : I like that she is not pin-VS model-thin. She looks just like a regular athletic girl. I like that he seems to prefer this type.
welp, at least he is publicly acknowledging a girlfriend, a mortal one as well. He is super hot, famous and wealthy, no need for him to be ‘off market’, so that’s a plus. Also, I always see these young Hollywood guys as slightly immature since they’ve tasted fame and all it entails early I figure their ‘growing up’ takes more time, so in his mind he’s probably right there on the same level with her. I’m in a similar situation as him, being courted by a 20 y.o. who is beyond mature in many things but it’s personally not to my taste having such a big age difference anymore, it’s just become ew. :/
Gross. The fact of age difference of 13 years itself is not the thing that grosses me out. It is just that she is 19. He is well established famous man dating someone who just (presumably) moved from parents. So what now is he paying for her travels and her dresses and hair and makeup? So he’s become a suggar daddy. But he doesn’t come across as very bright so probably that is the answer. It seems like he found someone he could dominate and feel like a man since he probably can’t hold a conversation with someone his age, superheroes and stuff. That answer about him and superman and the difference between the two is hilarious
When I was eighteen I dated a forty year old. He was very handsome, very rich, very attentive, very nice and it was fun without the nonsense games boys my own age played. It is good to practice on somebody older I think.
There’s only a problem when a predatory older person is targeting someone younger specifically because they are more vulnerable. I don’t think that really applies past eighteen, if you are still mentally a child by that age, there’s something wrong with you that a few more years won’t change. It’s bizarre how we infantalise adults nowadays. Time for helicoptered kids to grow up!
Along with his comments I know he is quite a big gamer so I don’t think his personality is super mature and sophisticated (not that gamers aren’t as a rule, I am married to one)
Let’s be honest: if he were just some guy working at Best Buy we would all think he was super creepy. Anyone over 25 shouldn’t be dating a 19-year old.
Henry should care for hair loss because it is becoming bald anced whenever either make a film must always wear a mini wig.
To everyone in this comment thread talking about their aaaahmazing experiences dating much older men in their teens — no, you were not “mature”. You were young and easily impressed and he dated you for your hot bod. If you were able to admit that I would concede maturity, but this is nonsense. No one in their 30s and 40s dates teenage girls for their minds.
How do you know what everyone in the world has experienced?
I really don’t think a person in their 30s and 40s dates teenage girls for their minds either. I don’t know if they date them for their hot bods either, judging by what I’ve seen on Dr. Phil, where the teenagers dating older men look quite average, but I think the mind thing (or lack of full development of it) is valid in TODAY’s day and age.
Idk about all that, at 16 i dated a 27 year old and I don’t remember having a ‘hot bod’ but he was also pretty stupid and immature for 27 so there’s that.
To be fair people date for different reasons. I doubt anyone took one look at me and said “I am going to date this girl for her mind !” . It is a package – personality, looks, intellect. Some people value looks over intellect, some people value personality over looks. some value earning potential over everything else etc. it is never clear cut.
And it goes both ways, for both genders. For good looking men it is much easier to find a date, just as it is for good looking women, all other things being equal . Everyone can be shallow. Such is reality.
First of all I have only recently realised that that age of consent in many states in the US is 18 not 16 – what happens, do kids nip across the state borders?
Secondly, the impression I always get with Henry is “the lights on on but there’s nobody home.”
For such a beautiful man…I find him so sad and pathetic. He’s clearly got major self-esteem and security issues.
Let’s be clear here: an older woman with a younger man is not and never will be the same thing as a 30 something man with a teen Bc there isn’t a cultural history of women exploiting younger men/dumping men their own age for younger men. The reason it’s why more disgusting for a man to date someone so young is Bc it conforms and suppers a social structure that exploits younger women and tosses older women out on their rears and keeps men with all the control. It’s call patriarchy. Additionally, when Cavill was 19 he had already appeared in Count of Monte Cristo. He was already in movies. The power imbalance, unless she was famous, was not nearly as much as the guy playing feeaking Superman going after a freshman in college.
He’s sad and he’s stupid. And I’m sorry but if he can’t find a successful woman his own age then yes, there is a problem with him and he’s got issues. Bc the last girl was 21. So it’s a pattern. He’s just another sad male stereotype.
But by saying that a young man dating/having sex with an older woman is not the same as a young woman dating /having sex with an older man, you’re saying that young women are not equal to young men. That young men are somehow more capable of making decisions about their bodies than young women are. (And where do same sex couples with age gaps stand in this conversation? Is a young man or a young woman who gets with a person of the same sex also a victim of sexual exploitation just because of the age of their partner? Is sexual consent invalid just because someone is 18 or 19 instead of 25?
Agreed. It isn’t the same although I still don’t like seeing grown ass women dating teenage boys. Though the thing is, it’s RARE. Whereas men dumping or rejecting women their own age for women as young as possible is common. Or trading in their older wives for a hot young thing. It’s very common in australia when men can afford to do so. It’s sick and wrong and I’m glad more and more women are voicing their concerns about it.
This dating a teenager thing really turned me off Henry. And my husband is 14 years older than me, so I don’t have an issue with the age difference in general. But she’s a child and he’s a grown ass man. That’s just gross. I’ll enjoy the Tudors when he was at his hottest and I didn’t know all of this creepy stuff about him. But yeah – he no longer blows my skirt up.
Hey it’s working for them, so be it. For however long or short their relationship lasts, they’re both game.
I don’t think their age difference is as terrible as it would be if he were, say, 42, but I do find it incredibly weird that he was intimidated by a 19 year old. I don’t get that at all. Sure, he could have found her attractive or charming or whatever, but intimidated? I get nervous at times around people, but younger people (even extremely good-looking ones) don’t have that effect on me. In fact, I think I’m a little more relaxed around people who are younger than me because I don’t feel I have anything to prove to them. (I always figured that’s how some younger men, for instance, wind up falling for older women — older women might come across as less awkward at times to people in that age range.) A 32 year old getting intimidated by a 19 year old is just plain odd to me.
I get it. I would be intimidated by someone like Chloe Grace Moretz, for example. Some people do have the confidence of youth before they have known failure. They are very sure of themselves. And some of them go on to have great and amazing lives without ever failing.
I’d probably respect a younger person who has it together and maybe feel wistful I wasn’t more confident when younger, but beyond that it would be hard for me to get to the level of feeling intimidated….maybe I just don’t care what younger people think of me (unless they’re my employer, I suppose). To be fair, as you get older, I suppose you don’t care what anybody at any age thinks. The lack of care or concern for what someone thinks isn’t necessarily directed strictly at only younger people.
I do find I can get on well with younger men, probably because I don’t look at them as romantic objects of affection. I know there’s no romantic relationship that’s going to ever develop so I’m probably less self-conscious in how i act. I guess for men that might work differently, however, since society instructs them to go after younger women.
Was it he or Ben Affleck who got sued for giving someone herpes in Chicago over the summer?
i’m so sad about this. he comes off so, so horrible lately. my love for him is lost.
At 22, I dated a 38 year old. I didn’t like his complete dedication to his career (his expectation I be certain things and dedicated to him straight out the gate). I’m nearing that age now and get it but would never touch someone younger. It is a big ewwww and not just because I’m a woman.
On Henry’s side, would bang. A lot. I’d also not leave a note.
He’s gorg… But there is something so ‘off’ about him. What is it???
I don’t know but he is very nice to look at. There is something just not quite right there. Maybe if he just doesn’t speak?
Superman with little hair and hands too small and is also bisexual !?
Ya’ll. They fu#king. That’s all til he meets some other new basic chick who wants to hang out with superman. And until she comes across some other new basic guy at school that thinks she cool for being in the news. Then they’ll be fu#king somebody else. Neither trying to get married til they both meet the right guy. End of story.
well why I agree with most of you on this site. This interview in Elle was just off. So I wrote the editor in chief of Elle (USA) and Elle (UK) both responded that this interview was done in November 2015. They do not know if he is still with her. It was written by a free lance writer. Also Henry himself said in an interview shortly after Man of Steel came out that please don’t believe everything you read that is printed about him. So this just might be an interview that was fabricated into something he never said. Also there is a rumor that once again Tara and her friends did this to keep her in the news. They have opened up so many fake accounts on Facebook and Instagram that its not even funny . She did it once when they first started dating why not now because she isn’t with him. Tara has not been seen with Henry since end of November he has not taken her to any events he went to in London and he is going to be at the Oscars so I am thinking that she wont be with him because they are not together anymore. But if I am wrong I will say sorry to everyone on here and eat my words (so to speak)!
He’s decent looking but I’ve never liked him. His expressions, his demeanor, and the stuff he says are so off and the lack of depth and talent shows in his performance. I don’t care about his dating life, but seems like he’s eager to share that he is “shagging” a girl. Maybe the rumors that he’s gay are true? If true, he should just come out and stop playing games. He will be fine. Will also help his performance maybe.