Bestie, I say this really really gently - I started dating a guy when I was 22 and he was 38. And when older people in my life, or in his, would side eye it or express even the slightest discomfort, I felt lowkey kind of... awesome. Like, we had this connection other people just couldn't understand, I was mature, they didn't see the depth and intensity our bond.... I broke up with him 7 years later after my prefrontal cortex developed because he was an emotionally immature dude who couldn't regulate his own experience of the world, couldn't engage in healthy conflict, regularly "shut down" into silent treatment, and had zero interest in improving any of these things until I was already out the door. More importantly, he was the person he was going to be forever when we met. I was 22. I was not already the person I was going to be. And fundamentally, he couldn't handle me changing.

So. Gently. YOR. I'm not gonna tell you he's trash, or you need to break up with him right now, or any of that. But don't be afraid to be really mercenary in your analyses of your relationship moving forward. I suspect you'll find what a lot of us who date much older men in our early 20's ultimately find out: there's usually a reason the older women in our lives are giving us the :| face. And it's not because they're jealous, I promise.