Ralph Fiennes's decade-long relationship with actress Francesca Annis, 19 years older than him, may have foundered this week but many women this Valentine's are celebrating healthy affairs with much younger men

The Gate Theatre's production of Brian Friel's play, Faith Healer, has received far more publicity this week than would be normal for a revival - but for all the wrong reasons.

What grabbed the headlines was the news that lead actor, film star and thinking women's hunk Ralph Fiennes's 10-year relationship with his companion, actress Francesca Annis, 19 years older than him, had foundered because of his alleged infidelity with a 32-year-old singer.

Much has been made of the extreme age difference between Fiennes and the still beautiful Annis. But long-standing relationships between older women and men much younger than them are not all that unusual. An analysis of British marriage statistics recently revealed that in just over 23% of all marriages the women was older than the man she married, suggesting that December/May romances may be more common than we think.

There is also evidence that, unlike in the case of Fiennes and Annis, these relationships appear to last a considerable time. A recent American poll revealed that almost one-third of women between ages 40 and 69 are dating men 10 or more years younger than them, and that more than one third of the relationships last for 10 years or longer.

Nor are December/May romances simply a recent phenomenon. The prophet of Islam, Mohammad, was 25 years younger than his first wife Khadija, and he didn't marry again until Khadija died. William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, eight years his elder, when he was 18.

Modern Hollywood is littered with, to use the acceptably PC term, girl/boy age gap relationships. Demi Moore is 42 and her new husband, Ashton Kutcher, was just 27 when they married late last year. Actor, producer and director Tim Robbins is 12 years younger than his wife Susan Sarandon. Geena Davis is 15 years older than her husband Dr Reza Jarrahy, while Justin Timberlake is nine years younger than his partner, actress Cameron Diaz.

Not everyone has $250,000 to 'invest' in their bodies the way Demi Moore has in order to defy time and nature. For instance, journalist Carol Thatcher, the 52-year-old daughter of Baroness Thatcher and recent surprise winner of I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, is a non-surgically enhanced older woman enjoying a relationship with a younger man.

Carol has been living in the chic skiing resort of Klosters in Switzerland for a number of years with a ski instructor called Marco Grass. Marco is 14 years younger than her.

However, it may be that the writing is on the wall for this particular relationship. On the reality TV programme Carol claimed she was "a happy singleton past my sell-by date". What's more, just as she was about to be crowned the queen of the jungle she said there was no one in particular she wanted to ring if she won. This appears to have been complete news to Marco, who immediately rushed into print and claimed they were still the item they had been for the last 12 years. What's more, he couldn't wait to get her home to "beef her up" on tinned goulash soup from the local Co-op.

Actress Barbara Windsor, who plays Queen Vic owner Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap EastEnders, also has a much younger husband. In fact, she calls her husband of five years, Scott Mitchell, "my old man" despite the fact he is actually 26 years younger than her.

Scott used to be her chauffeur and they had an on-off relationship for seven years before tying the knot in 2000. Once married to London underworld kingpin Ronnie Knight, Barbara, who was born in 1937, has made something of a habit of marrying younger men. Her second-last hubby, actor Stephen Hillings, was 20 years younger.

According to Hello! magazine, Barbara says that "Scott has got an old head on his young shoulders," and adds that, "We run around the kitchen together and we just look at each other and say, 'This is really good, it's bloody wonderful'."

Ireland has not been immune to this trend, and among the December/May relationships that have flourished in recent years are those of Miriam O'Callaghan, who has just had her eighth baby, and her husband Steve Carson, and Riverdance supremo Julian Erskine and his wife Anita Reeves. In both cases there is some seven years in the difference. Another Irish girl who has enjoyed a relationship where the age difference was some 15 years is socialite Cindy Cafolla, when she dated car dealer Trevor Musgrave a while back.

Elsewhere Dame Vivienne Westwood, the designer responsible for giving us punk and new wave fashion, is more likely to look at the designs sketched by her toyboy husband, Andreas Kronthaler, and say 'bloody wonderful' than chase him around the table.

The outspoken designer, described as fashion's chief architect of revolt who in 1992 went to Buckingham Palace to receive her OBE from the Queen wearing a see-through blouse and no underwear, secretly married Kronthaler in 1992. He'd been her assistant, and was 25 years her junior. By all accounts it is a very happy match, and Vivienne, who was born in 1941, credits him with having a wonderful influence on her life and creativity.

Dynasty star Joan Collins is a much-married woman, currently on husband number five. His name is Percy Gibson, and he is 32 years younger than the extraordinarily well-preserved actress who will celebrate her 73rd birthday this May.

She says she has always felt that age shouldn't be a chronological issue. "I know I look and act a lot younger than I am," she says, adding, "I'm a lot more secure in myself than many girls in their 20s."

Percy says that he'd be foolish not to admit that they did spend a lot of time discussing the age issue when they met. "However," he added, "It's a damn shame for two people so happy together to make the difference in age the reason for not being together."

Despite constant rumours to the contrary, the marriage between pop icon Madonna and her film director younger husband, Guy Ritchie, seems to be pretty strong. Guy is completely dismissive of the age difference between them - Madonna is 48 and he's a decade younger.

Despite being in her late 40s, Madonna works out like a demon and is involved in the pop music scene which keeps her abreast of the zeitgeist.

Today's older women are different from those of previous generations. They feel much better about themselves, many are determined to remain sexy and attractive by taking care of themselves. That means, according to the experts, they're actually looking for men who can keep up with them, a wish that often lead them to younger men.