JANA HOCKING: I’ve uncovered the ultimate new sex…

Let me set the scene.

He was a 27-year-old no baby from a famous Champagne family. I was a 40-year-old sex columnist. We met in Paris, and I had the most magical date of my life.

Now don’t get me wrong, being French certainly helped. But it was his emotional awareness that really made me go weak at the knees.

Many of you will know, I’ve harped on for years about how I prefer my men older. Well, let me eat a big ol’ slice of humble pie. Because those words have come back to haunt me.

It was one too many bad dates with depressing divorcees that finally broke me. Somewhere between splitting the bill over cheap wine (‘divorces are expensive!’) and listening to another rant about an ex-wife, I realized I’d become their therapist.

Bro, I can see why she didn’t want to sleep with you.

So, when this younger man asked me out on a balmy summer night in Paris, I said ‘Oui’ without hesitation.

For starters, he set a date/time/and place – all without my prodding – ordered the champagne without glancing at the price and had a quiet confidence that felt sexy, not smug.

We sat in a candle-lit corner swapping stories until the restaurant closed. Then we wandered to a private club where we stayed up all night dancing, smoking (hey, when in France!) and flirting outrageously.

God, it felt good to be alive again, with someone who wasn’t complaining about his bad back, or looking at his watch because of a looming bedtime.

The next morning, somewhere between my espresso, a bit of fondling and a mild hangover, it hit me: maybe the problem isn’t me. Maybe I’ve just been dating the wrong generation.

According to Bumble, women are now actively seeking younger men, with a surge in age-gap matches led by women who say younger partners are ‘more open, fun and emotionally available.’

A recent survey by dating platform Zoosk found 31 percent of women openly prefer to date younger men. And even an IPSOS poll found that almost half of all singles would happily date someone at least ten years younger.

Heck, 50-year-old Charlize Theron recently told the ‘Call Her Daddy,’ podcast that she was ‘f***** a 26-year-old,’ and it was ‘amazing.’

Ladies, I’ll have what she’s having, because younger men are an absolute dream.

They weren’t raised in an era where dads told their sons to ‘toughen up’ and ‘stop crying.’ Thanks to modern parenting, self-help books and – dare I say it – mums who listened to Oprah, these men were taught to express what they feel, not bottle it up.

Praise be.

Now, I’m not saying they’re all perfect. Some don’t own a headboard, still share a flat with three (messy) mates, and they won’t yet have the funds for a cheeky spur-of-the-moment trip overseas.

They might not get all your 90s pop-culture references or realize that ‘Sex and the City’ isn’t just a vintage show, it’s a religion. And yes, they sometimes need a little training – not everyone wants to build a boyfriend from scratch.

But honestly, I’ll take that over a jaded forty-something who’s emotionally unavailable and still fighting with his ex over custody agreements.

Older men have been dating younger women for centuries and nobody blinks. But women who date younger are ‘cougars,’ as if we’re an apex predator who’s stalked some guy in his twenties through a nightclub and pounced. Please.

The truth is, it’s younger men who are pursuing us. Maybe it’s the glow from Botox and Pilates, or maybe they can just sense the confidence of women who no longer rely on a man’s finances. Whatever it is, they’re sliding into our DMs and I’m here for it.

They don’t feel emasculated by a woman’s success; they find it sexy. When I tell a younger man what I do for a living, he asks questions. When I tell an older man, he jokes about being scared I’ll write about him.

There also a refreshing lack of ego. Older men I’ve dated have carried a quiet resentment – a hangover from a time when being a ‘provider’ gave them purpose.

But younger guys aren’t trying to be your father figure. They’re trying to be your partner.

I’ll be honest I had mistakenly thought being with a younger man was just a bit of fun for both of us. Turns out I was wrong.

They’re often more emotionally mature than the older men I’ve spent years chasing. I found that out the hard way when I foolishly played with the heart of a very emotionally aware 29-year-old earlier this year.

After being a little hot and cold and constantly cancelling plans with him he played the grown-up card on me and told me very politely that he was looking for something more serious than I could offer.

I was offended, then impressed. He knew what he wanted and he wasn’t afraid to say it. Meanwhile, I’d spent years with men in their forties and fifties who couldn’t even decide what to order for dinner.

And yes, the sex is better too.

Not just because of stamina (although that helps). It’s because younger men care. They’ve grown up with consent drummed into them. They don’t rush or treat you like an object; they ask what you like, and they listen.

Both the younger men I’ve slept with embraced foreplay. Thank you TikTok and your handy tips and tricks!

Meanwhile, many men over 40 are more concerned with their own satisfaction.

So, the next time someone side-eyes you for having a boyfriend a few years younger, just smile. Because secretly, every woman knows what Madonna and Cher figured out long ago: once you go younger, it’s very hard to go back.