Cricket 'God' Sachin Tendulkar's wife Anjali Tendulkar is about five years older than him. Bollywood star Shahid Kapoor's wife Mira Kapoor is about 15 years younger than him. Actress Alia Bhatt is about 10 years younger than her husband Ranbir Kapoor. These are some examples that force us to ask the question of how many years there should be an age gap between an ideal couple and what does medical science says about this.

Before talking about science, let us think about the legal provisions. In our country, the minimum age for marriage of girls is 18 years. Whereas the minimum age for marriage of boys is 21 years. Marriage at an age below this is considered child marriage. Well, according to the government rules, girls become eligible for marriage at the age of 18 and boys at the age of 21. Thus, there is a gap of three years in their age.

But, if we analyse this legal provision closely, one thing becomes clear that girls grow up physically and mentally sooner than boys. This is the reason why their marriage age is kept lower than that of boys. There is a gap of three years between the ages of both. As far as the social system in our country is concerned, here too there has been a tradition of marrying girls at a relatively younger age. Generally, there is a belief in the society that the age of a girl should be less than that of a boy. There can be many reasons behind this. One important reason is social. But, its biological reason matters a lot.

Biological reasons
According to medical science, the process of physical development of boys and girls is completely different. Girls start becoming teenagers at the age of 12 to 13 years. They start getting periods. Their physical development progresses from a teenager to a young woman. Usually, a girl becomes a full-fledged teenager by the age of 16 to 17 years. At that age, her physical development is almost complete. At this age, fertility in a young woman is also at its highest level.

On the other hand, if we talk about boys, their physical development starts a few years later than girls. A boy becomes a teenager at the age of 15 to 16 years. He starts becoming a biological man at this age. He becomes a complete man at the age of 20-21 years. In such a situation, in case of having a relationship, the possibility of him becoming a father at this age is the highest.

Age gap in science:
As far as medical science is concerned, there is no mention of the age of marriage. However, medical science definitely talks about the age of relationships. Science talks about the appropriate age for having a relationship. Biologically, a girl becomes capable of having a relationship when her period starts and a boy acquires the ability to release sperm. But, keeping in mind the health and complete physical development of both, the ages of 18 and 21 years have been fixed.

In such a situation, considering the social and biological conditions, it is believed that there should be a gap of 3 to 5 years between the age of the girl and the boy. But, this is not set in stone. In the country, cases of couples of all ages and sometimes the girl being older are seen a lot. Despite this, their marriage is seen to be quite successful and happy.