90 Day Fiancé: Molly Hopkins Discusses Age Gap Dating & Gender Bias

90 Day Fiancé star Molly Hopkins has found love with her new boyfriend, Kelly, on 90 Day: The Single Life, but the mother of two still has to contend with age-shaming critics. The 45-year-old businesswoman previously married Luis Mendez in season 5 of the hit TLC show. The Dominican Republic native was 15 years Molly’s junior, which is not uncommon in the 90 Day Fiancé franchise. However, Molly is still receiving criticism for having dated a younger man, even though her current boyfriend is in her age range. Molly addressed the criticism in an exclusive interview, as well as some Instagram comments.

Viewers witnessed Molly’s relationship with Luis implode, as the two argued frequently. Luis, who was 26 at the time, showed no interest in being a step-dad to his 41-year-old wife’s two daughters. Molly divorced Luis after just six months of marriage, and he quickly remarried. The fan-favorite business owner continued her journey for love on 90 Day: The Single Life. While other cast members are struggling to navigate dating, Molly hit it off right away with Brooklyn cop Kelly after he messaged her on Instagram and took an interest in her charity work. Kelly is far more receptive to Molly’s daughters and appears very compatible with the business owner. However, critics can’t help but attack Molly due to her partners’ ages.

Last week, the 90 Day Fiancé Instagram account shared a clip from The Single Life showing Molly and her friend snooping online to see if Kelly had a child. “She must expect that a man in his 30’s would want kids,” one commenter wrote. “As a 45-year-old woman she should know why this is probably the most important reason that she should find a man her own age!” Molly clapped back on her own Instagram account to let the fan know that “he is my age.” It turned out that the 45-year-old mother is indeed dating an age-appropriate partner. “He’s, like, 42. He just has that baby face,” Molly clarified about Kelly in an exclusive interview. “His skin is amazing, and he has a young spirit, but he’s not young at all. He’s getting ready to retire from the force, as far as I know, but he’s not young.” You can view the clip of Molly on The Single Life below:

When asked if she considered the rude age comments to be gender-specific, Molly agreed. “It’s just ridiculous. If it was back in the day, Hugh Hefner kept all the young honeys. It’s always been that way,” she said. “If you’re older than your guy, all of a sudden the roles are reversed and it’s very much not accepted in the same manner. And I could care less at this point because it’s not about that at all.” Molly opened up about being a responsible mother who was in no way seeking young men and compromising her home life with her daughters. She made it clear that she was very careful before introducing a new partner to her two girls and that age was not something that attracted her to people she is dating.

Age gaps are common in the 90 Day Fiancé franchise, but older women dating younger men tend to be particularly targeted. Molly stated that she didn’t date Luis due to his young age, just as she didn’t select Kelly due to his age. “When I met Luis, it wasn’t about that either. I didn’t see age, and I have a very young spirit. I live my life, and I still will,” she said. “My mom is 70, still working night time, and she’s at the beach this week hamming it up. Her mind is that she’s in her 30’s so that she can keep going. She has fun, and she lives life, and that’s how I want to be.” Molly made it clear she won’t allow online criticism to dictate her dating life or change her personality.

Fortunately, Molly hasn’t allowed criticism to affect her blossoming romance with Kelly. The Georgia business owner and Brooklyn cop appear to be a very compatible duo. Their DMs quickly turned into a steamy video call on The Single Life, and Molly and Kelly appear to be falling for each other quickly. Many franchise fans support fan-favorite Molly’s new romance, as her ex-husband Luis was disliked by many. Fans can follow Molly’s quest for love by tuning in to new episodes of 90 Day: The Single Life on Discovery+.

Source: 90 Day Fiancé/Instagram, Molly Hopkins/Instagram

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