My son is 19 like Cruz Beckham and I’d be horrified if he dated a woman 10 years older – he’s not an adult yet and it’s just as bad as a teenage girl with an older man

In my friend group a handful of our sons turned 19 this year, and a hot topic of conversation has been the relationship between 19-year-old Cruz Beckham and 29- year-old Jackie Apostel.

We’ve all wondered how we would feel in Victoria’s shoes and if we would react as the Beckhams have, with no outward sign that they deem the relationship inappropriate.

Instead, they have chosen to keep their son and his Brazilian girlfriend close, hoping it’s just a ‘Mrs Robinson’ phase.

David is reportedly relaxed about the situation, believing its every young boy’s dream to be with an older, experienced woman.

In our group, however, the general opinion is that it is an inappropriate age gap relationship and if any one of our boys rocked up with Jackie we wouldn’t be pleased.

Girls mature faster than boys. A 19-year-old boy is still at the stage where he is finding himself, and I am not certain that the influence of a woman ten years his senior is the appropriate thing.

And what if the tables were turned? Would David be equally thrilled if his only daughter Harper once she turned 19 was dating a man ten years her senior?

Raj Gill, 51, with her son Jeevan, 19, who is the same age as Cruz Beckham. Raj says she would not be happy with him dating a woman who is 10 years older when he’s not even an adult himself.

I doubt that very much. In general we tend to be far more over protective with our daughters than our sons.

Cruz is too young to know his own mind, and if he thinks Jackie is the love of his life, I doubt he is thinking straight. This is likely to be the first in a long line of affairs of the heart for him.

One telltale sign that all is not what it seems in the Beckham world is that neither David nor Victoria have acknowledged Jackie’s existence on the various social media platforms that the pair of them regularly update. This is a sure sign that they hope that this relationship will not last the course.