The dark side of Hollywood: Jerry Seinfeld dated a 17-year-old when he was 38
Jerry Seinfeld has always had a nice-guy attitude about him. He is best known for playing a fictional version of himself in the beloved American sitcom Seinfeld between 1989 and 1998. However, there is something rather unsettling regarding the details of Seinfeld’s romantic exploits.
The truth is that Seinfeld once dated a 17-year-old when he was 38 himself – a fact that sits rather unsettling through the lens of today’s acceptability. In the early 1990s, Seinfeld was involved with Shoshanna Lonstein, although the pair claimed their relationship was initially based on mere friendship. However, it came to light that Seinfeld and Lonstein’s relationship was far more than just friendly. They had met in Central Park in 1993 when Seinfeld had noticed Lonstein on a park bench and decided to approach her. Apparently, the two hit it off, and Lonstein agreed to give Seinfeld her number.
At the time, Lonstein was just 17 years old, and the two ended up dating for four years. However, Seinfeld was adamant that their relationship did not begin in terms of being romantic and most likely sexual until Lonstein turned 18.
The age difference between the pair naturally drew widespread and unwanted attention for Seinfeld, particularly in the American tabloids and gossip columns. Just after Lonstein turned 18, Seinfeld appeared on The Howard Stern Show, and Stern, in his typically confrontational manner, attempted to address the rumours. He joked: “So, you sit in Central Park and have a candy bar on a string and pull it when the girls come?” Seinfeld appeared rather disconcerted by the fact, and he insisted that she was not as young as many thought. “She’s not 17, definitely not,” he said.
However, just a month later, Seinfeld appeared on the Howard Stern Show again, contradicting his previous beliefs. “I didn’t realise she was so young,” he said. “This is the only girl I ever went out with who was that young. I wasn’t dating her. We just went to a restaurant, and that was it.”
A few years later, after establishing their romance, Seinfeld defended his decision to have a relationship with someone nearly half his age. “I am not an idiot. Shoshanna is a person, not an age,” he said (via Defamer). “She is extremely bright. She’s funny, sharp, very alert. We just get along. You can hear the click.”
Seinfeld then told Playboy: “When I like someone, I don’t care about her race, creed or national origin. If I like her, I don’t care. I don’t discriminate. If she’s 18, if she’s intelligent, that’s fine.”
Eventually, the pair broke up, although, according to Seinfeld, he felt that things were pretty rosy between them. “We were very much in love. But the timing wasn’t quite right. I almost got married to Shoshanna.” Lonstein had enrolled at college, wanting to pursue a career of her own, showing that perhaps age was not the only issue.
“I don’t want my wife to work,” Seinfeld later said. “I’ve had enough career for both of us.” While there did appear to be an evident romance between the pair, the fact remains that Seinfeld hanging around in Central Park flirting with 17-year-old girls is really not OK.
