Cougar Break-Ups: Can Older Women-Younger Men Relationships Last?

Oct. 13, 2010 — -- With Hollywood couples like Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher in the spotlight, a phenomenon that was once taboo -- older women on the prowl for younger men-- seems to be the in-thing.

More and more women in Hollywood and beyond are ignoring the age gap when it comes to love. A third of middle-aged women are now dating men at least 10 years younger, according to a poll by the American Association of Retired Persons.

"Women are more successful and don't need a man for a paycheck, they want men who are carefree," psychoanalyst Dr. Bethany Marshall said on "Good Morning America."

While so-called "cougar" couples are more common than ever, so too are break-ups. "Cougar Town" star Courteney Cox and her husband of 11 years, David Arquette, are the latest in a string of break-ups between famous older women and younger men.

Long-time Hollywood couple Susan Sarandon, 63, and Tim Robbins, 51, called it quits over the summer. Madonna, 51, and ex-husband Guy Ritchie, who is 10 years her junior, split and now the Material Girl has an even younger beau, model Jesus Luz, 22.

Cox, 46, and Arquette, 39, announced that a "trial separation" Monday and in a statement said that their split "dates back for some time."

But while men have been making the May-December romance work for centuries, why does it so often fail for women?