COUGAR CRAZE

Darin Riggio has a thing for older women. He dated his first “Cougar” when he was a 19-year-old college student; she was 43.

Since then, the 24-year-old who lives in Boca Raton, Fla., has dated women old enough to be his mother.

“Women my age don’t know what they want,” said Riggio, ticking off his list of why older women are better. “Two, they are usually immature. Three, there’s a lot of drama involved. Four, they don’t have as much experience as older women.”

But Riggio, who was briefly married to a woman his age, said he probably wouldn’t marry an older woman. He likes to date them more for fun.

Cougar relationships may be hot in Hollywood – from ABC’s new sitcom “Cougar Town” to celebrity couplings like Ashton and Demi and even a reality show, “The Cougar” – but few women are married to men who are significantly younger.

Dating experts say they have seen a rise in older women seeking younger men, though not necessarily the other way around. And they say those matches don’t tend to turn into long-term relationships.

In fact, only 1 percent of all marriages in 2008 were between a woman who was 10 to 14 years older than her husband, and 2.6 percent were six to nine years older, according to Census figures. (It’s about 5 percent and 11.6 percent the other way around, respectively.)

Most marriages – about 32 percent – were between a husband and wife whose ages were within a year of each other, and about a fifth were with a man who was two to three years older than his wife.

“I don’t think we’re going to see a wholesale change in our society with younger men all of a sudden wanting to marry older women,” said Debbie Then, a social psychologist in California. “But I think they may date some Cougars who are still sort of looking young, hip and hot.

“I think the younger men, it’s more of an adventure for them,” she added. “It’s like traveling to an exotic land for a while.”

Christie Nightingale, of the matchmaking service Premier Match, said she has seen an increase in the past six months of women requesting younger men.

A 48-year-old woman used to want a man between the ages of 45 and 60, she said. Now she wants a man between the ages of 35 and 50.

The women say the younger men are “so youthful and so full of energy,” men their own age or older can’t keep up, Nightingale said.

But she has not seen a change in age preference from her male clients, so she has found herself calling them to see if they would be open to dating an older woman. While a few are willing to try it, she doesn’t believe they are serious about it long-term.

Valerie Gibson, author of “Cougar: A Guide for Older Women Dating Younger Men,” says that is fine for a real Cougar, a term she says has been misused to describe any woman who dates a younger man.

A Cougar is not looking to get married or even be in a long-term serious relationship, she said, just to have a good time.

Long-term, Cougar relationships can be problematic because the man may decide he wants his own biological children, or the pair may have trouble relating to different life stages, said dating coach Evan Marc Katz, who himself is married to a woman three years older.

But that doesn’t mean age – and the confidence and independence that come with it – can’t be a turn-on for younger men, said Linda Franklin, author of “Don’t Ever Call Me Ma’am: The Real Cougar Woman Handbook.”

She said men also like finding a woman who is done having children or isn’t planning on having any, dodging the pressure of a biological clock.

“It’s more about their energy and their vitality,” said Anthony Sandford, 46, a divorced father of two in Westfield, N.J.

The IT consultant has dated women as much as a decade older. He said older women are more grounded, their children are grown and they have the time and resources to do things like travel.

Often, age doesn’t even come up initially.

Raymond Michaels, 23, thought his wife Jennifer, 41, a divorced mom of three, was in her late 20s or early 30s when he met her three years ago in a parking lot and helped her with her car.

The couple, who live in Maui, Hawaii, have been married for two years.

“She was just real sweet,” he said. “She had this great smile and beautiful eyes. Her personality was strong and confident.

“Age isn’t really a factor to me. It’s just the person.”