- Whoopi Goldberg said that she's dated people older and younger than her.
- The "View" cohost said that she's not concerned about a person's age.
- One of the star's more recent relationships was with someone 40 years older than her.
"The View" cohost Whoopi Goldberg weighed in on age gap relationships and shared her own bombshell about dating someone decades older than her.
"I've gone up and down," Goldberg, 68, said on Thursday's episode of "The View."
"I go from here to here, because your age is not what's going to get me into your arms," she continued. "It's not your age that I'm concerned about — unless you're under 18, in which case I can't."
Cohost Joy Behar said that age gaps can get "problematic," depending on how large the difference is.
"One of the last relationships I had, he was 40 years older than me," Goldberg said in response.
Goldberg didn't elaborate much further and the clip uploaded on the show's official YouTube account cuts off right after the revelation. But according to Entertainment Weekly, Behar asked if the unnamed man is still alive and Goldberg nodded in confirmation.
Goldberg has previously been married to Alvin Martin, David Claessen, and Lyle Trachtenberg. She has one daughter named Alex Martin from her marriage to Martin.
Goldberg's granddaughter, Amara Skye, spoke about the star's dating history while appearing on season one of the reality TV show "Claim to Fame" in 2022. According to Skye, Goldberg had a boyfriend that was around 90 years old, "some old white man named John, and he was like a billionaire."
Although Goldberg didn't share the person's identity on "The View," this aforementioned billionaire could be who she was referring to.
Goldberg herself has been fairly private about her dating life in recent years.
During a 2021 episode of "The View," she explained that her interest in dating older or younger than her fluctuates based on the person. However, Goldberg said that she lost interest in younger men because of the generational difference.
"You have to know when you're going younger, there's a lot of information that you have to impart," she explained. "And sometimes it's tiring. But then there's the other way where you're like, 'Yeah, you're younger, but you look good! Yeah, you're all right.' So you never know."
Goldberg's admission on "The View" was sparked by a discussion of the upcoming Prime Video film "The Idea of You," which is based on a novel of the same name that was inspired by singer Harry Styles.
The movie stars Anne Hathaway as a 40-year-old single mom and divorcée named Solène who falls into an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), the lead singer of a fictional boyband called August Moon. In real life, Hathaway and Galitzine have a 12-year age gap.
The trailer's release on Wednesday prompted discussions online about age-gap relationships and double standards.
"This is not new," Goldberg said, naming stars like Cher and Demi Moore who have dated much younger people. The cohosts also chimed in, mentioning Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, two stars in their 80s who recently welcomed children with significantly younger partners.
"What is the problem? If you don't want to see the movie, don't see the movie," Goldberg said. "Stop bitching about it."
