More often than not, men could pick and choose when it came to finding a wife, as women were financially dependable on them. And so, they were given an expiration date, which, if passed, meant they were to remain spinsters forever.

Author Jane Austen depicted this perfectly in her classic novel, Pride and Prejudice (published in 1813) where Elizabeth Bennet’s best friend Charlotte decides to wed the insufferable Mr Collins simply because she’s afraid of ending up poor and alone, due to being older than the average single woman.

Unfortunately, it takes a long time to undo this level of misogynistic thinking, and the expiration date obsession has remained. According to society, we were doomed from birth because men age better and if we’re not pretty, we are of no value.

As someone who is turning 30 in a month, I’ve been told I’m “past my prime”, “only have a few years left to find a husband” and that men “won’t date women over 30”. Not only is this offensive and completely ridiculous, but it also reinforces the age-old assumption that the man will choose me, not that we will choose each other, and that I should be happy with whoever comes my way because apparently he’s doing me a favour.

People are obsessed with relationship age gaps - but only when the woman is older