Psychologists Break Down Bill Belichick and His Girlfriend Jordon Hudson’s 50-Year Age Gap and Reveal Why Young Women Choose Older Men

It’s the latest high-profile relationship to capture the attention of the American public, and for one reason.

Former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, 72, recently found a new love interest: former cheerleader Jordon Hudson, who is only 23 years old. The age difference between them is a whopping 48 years.

The NFL legend’s new girlfriend isn’t the first young woman to show interest in a much older, successful man.

The celebrity world is full of examples of so-called gold diggers: from Al Pacino and Noor Alfalla, 53 years his junior, to Anna Nicole Smith, who was 26 when she married an 89-year-old oil tycoon.

But do some young women really fall in love with seniors? And if so, why?

DailyMail.com spoke to psychologists who uncovered the inner workings of a gold digger and discovered what drives them to enter into such unconventional relationships.

According to experts, some women are really only interested in money and feel entitled to the extravagant lifestyle that such a partnership provides.

Israeli psychologist Dr. Sam Vaknin said: ‘These people feel they have the right to a good life, to luxury, to wonderful company, to the right not to have to work.

‘They think they have a right to complete and absolute independence. This right, which is a characteristic of narcissism, is common among gold diggers.

“And it drives them to engage in behavior that essentially amounts to extortion.”

However, some choose much older and often wealthier partners because of the great uncertainty.

Dr Catherine Nobile, director of Nobile Psychology in New York, told DailyMail.com: ‘From an evolutionary point of view, women may be inclined to seek out partners who offer stability and resources, traits often associated with older, wealthier men.

Dr. Alexandra Solomon, a licensed clinical psychologist at Northwestern University, adds, “Someone who grew up in an emotionally unsafe home may long for someone who feels like a rock, a secure anchor, and certainty.”

She added that people who grew up “without attention and affection” may feel extra comfort when they are “spoiled” materially and emotionally.

“It’s a kind of salve on the wound of feeling unseen or neglected, because one doesn’t feel special at home,” she adds.

This also applies to the situation of tragic model Anna Nicole Smith, who married 89-year-old billionaire oil magnate J Howard Marshall in 1994, despite a 63-year age difference.

Years before she became a Playboy star, the former chicken shop worker was exploited by people who said they loved her and was abused as a young adult.

She told Larry King in 2007, “I couldn’t make ends meet. I tried Red Lobster. I tried WalMart. I tried all those places and I couldn’t make it. I couldn’t do it. So I tried this gentlemen’s club, and you know, I worked there, and it was just awful at those places. It was awful. And he saved me from that.

“I saw a very sick man. Someone who was just very, very sick and… physically in trouble. And I just wanted to talk to him… there was no physical attraction at all.”

The relationship is transactional, meaning that it is not just the so-called gold digger who benefits. The older partner also gets to indirectly share in the other’s youth and reap the benefits of their beauty and physical attractiveness.

Dr. Solomon said, “By him choosing her, he has access to a kind of fountain of youth, or in this way that she chooses him, his own value is confirmed. Not financial value, but psychological value.”

Some people choose older, wealthier, successful partners because they are not close to power and cannot influence that person.

Noor Alfallah, the 30-year-old girlfriend of Godfather star Al Pacino, was a film student before becoming a film and television producer. According to IMDb, she has only worked on a handful of short films to date. She did, however, produce the upcoming film Billy Knight, starring her boyfriend Pacino.

While her motives for entering a relationship may be completely honest, she may still benefit from it.

She told Vogue Arabia: ‘I thought, wow, that’s Al Pacino. I went to film school, so I wasn’t stupid about who he was… he’s a very talented and unique person. But I didn’t have any intention of thinking, oh, he’s going to be the father of my son one day.’

The appeal of a wealthy partner may also lie in the sense of stability and the ability to afford a luxurious lifestyle without having to work for it yourself.

Dr. Nobile said: ‘Some people struggle with feelings of inadequacy or doubt their ability to achieve financial stability.

‘For these people, a relationship with a wealthier partner is a way to live a stable and comfortable life, especially if they have financial problems or do not have a strong support network.’

Traditional gender roles reinforce this dynamic, she added. Speaking to DailyMail.com, she said that a patriarchal society “sees men as the breadwinners.” However, she cautioned that “the choice of this partner may be rooted more in a desire for security, power and status than in factors related to specific gender roles.”

Women have long been taught that their ticket to success is to marry a wealthy partner. Men have historically – and continue to – have disproportionately controlled wealth, power, and resources.

Dr Solomon said: ‘It is a reflection of the patriarchy that we point to her as the gold-digger, rather than someone who takes advantage of her youth, her beauty or her vitality.’

Centuries of gender discrimination have reinforced these inequalities and created a societal framework in which men hold privileged and authoritative positions.

As a result, women often have limited opportunities for economic and social advancement. For some, marriage is the primary means of securing financial stability and social status.

A relationship between a very young person and a very old person can also be deeply rooted in psychology and childhood. For example, a dysfunctional relationship with a parent may influence a person’s preferences for his or her own partner.

Dr. Susan Krauss Whitbourne, professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, wrote in Psychology Today that our adult relationships reflect how our caregivers treated us. If a woman seeks the security of a father figure in her relationships, it suggests that she may not have received adequate care from her own father.

‘Women who needed the security of a father figure were, from this perspective, poorly cared for by their own fathers, which was later reflected in their search for security with an older man.’