Billie Eilish, Jesse Rutherford's Age Gap Slammed Amid Romance Reports

Billie Eilish and Jesse Rutherford's 10-year age gap has become a talking point on social media amid reports that the singers have embarked on a romance.

On Wednesday, several outlets published photos of Eilish sharing a kiss with the Neighbourhood frontman during an outing that reportedly took place Tuesday night in the Studio City area of Los Angeles.

Eilish and Rutherford were photographed on a sidewalk after dining at local Indian restaurant Lal Mirch, according to People magazine. The two were also spotted dining together at Los Angeles' Crossroads Kitchen on October 13.

The following day, they were seen together at Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights, an annual Halloween-themed event, in Los Angeles. A fan spotted them and shared a TikTok video of the couple holding hands.

While both stars have yet to publicly comment on the nature of their relationship, Twitter users have chimed in with their concerns about their age gap. Rutherford turned 31 in August, while Eilish will turn 21 in December.

One tweet that went viral read: "jesse rutherford was alive during george h w bush's presidency [1989-1993]. billie eilish cannot legally drink."

The same Twitter user then posted a reimagined version of Rutherford's 2013 hit single "Sweater Weather." The tweet read: "jesse rutherford in 2013: and its too coooooold for you here. billie eilish in 2013: and now, i'm twelve years oooooold."

Others pointed out that the singers had met years earlier. A Rutherford fan account on Twitter shared a picture of the pair posing playfully together at a costume party in December 2017, when he was 26 and she was 16.

Using this as grounds for criticism, another detractor tweeted: "Jesse Rutherford is too old for Billie Eilish and it is made worse by the fact that he met her when she was barely 16. The Neighbourhood is one of my favorite bands but it looks like I'm about to stop listening to them. I'm so devastated. I hope Billie knows what she's doing."

Amid the criticism, other fans came to the defense of the singers, with one arguing that Eilish's life experiences aren't comparable to those of an average 20-year-old.

"Not all age gap relationships are bad," the person said. "Billie Eilish isn't at the same life STAGE as most 20 year olds & life stage is what's most relevant. Most of the time stage *does* correlate to age—but, not always. The [red flag] is people who actively pursue large age gaps (15+ yrs) in a serial way."

Defending Eilish, an Oscar winner this year, another person said that if they "had people commenting on my relationship that is not even confirmed nor anyone's business i'd be fuming. she's a woman, a grown adult. stop infantilising her."

Eilish was previously in a relationship with rapper Q, whose real name is Brandon Adams. She is also rumored to have dated actor Matthew Tyler Vorce from late 2021 through May 2022, according to People.

Rutherford dated model and entrepreneur Devon Lee Carlson from 2015 to 2021. They were dubbed "2019's most 2019 couple" by GQ. A year later, they worked with Marc Jacobs to design a special-edition Valentine's Day T-shirt.

Carlson, who is the co-founder of Wildflower Cases, an iPhone accessories company, confirmed the couple had split in an interview on the Call Her Daddy podcast. She told host Alexandra Cooper in September, "We had the most mutual breakup ever."

Newsweek reached out to representatives for Eilish and Rutherford for comment.