As most people are already aware, Chris Evans is one of the sexiest men alive. And not only because People got it right for once.

For some time now, he’s been dating fellow actor Alba Baptista. It looks like they first met a couple of years ago, while both filming in Europe.

Over the weekend, he and the Warrior Nun star married in a secret ceremony. They have been remarkably private.

And not without reason. This week, the newlyweds have received a deluge of shaming over their age gap.

Chris Evans and Alba Baptista married on Saturday, September 9. The groom invited fellow MCU actors Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, and even Jeremy Renner for some reason.

The understated ceremony went down near the hunky actor’s home outside of Boston.

Apparently, guests signed NDAs. It sounds like someone may have spilled anyway.

Obviously, initial reactions included a lot of joy at the couple’s nuptials.

And the equally obvious lamentations that these two absolute knockouts are off the market. (They’ve been dating for a while, folks) Most people were joking, or at least half-joking. Because most people never had a shot.

However, the Avengers alum and Warrior Nun star were also the targets of some very sincere hostility. Why? Because of their respective ages. And the span of years between those ages.

Chris Evans entered the world in 1981. The Hollywood hunk is 42 years old.

Alba Baptista, born in Portugal to a Portuguese and Brazilian parent, is younger. She is 16 years younger, having been born in 1997.

Let’s be perfectly clear: Alba is a grown adult woman. In addition to being 26, she had an established Portuguese-language career before making her English-language debut starring in Warrior Nun.

They met in 2021 (according to internet sleuths; like we said, Chris and Alba have been very quiet). The two were both filming projects in Europe at that time.

So no one’s accusing Chris of, like, grooming her when she was a minor so that he could announce their relationship on her 18th birthday.

(That’s a gross people that real people, even famous people, have done. And worse)

Simply put, a lot of people are sick and tired of famous actors — even the super hot ones — who constantly date and marry much, much younger women.

And, as is so often the case, some nuance gets lost along the way.

So instead of “hmmm, what is drawing these men to date these super-young adult women?” people turn it into a sort of orthodoxy, where age gaps are inherently bad. But … are they?

Obviously, some more extreme age gaps will always raise questions. What does a rich 60-year-old have in common with a 23-year-old waitress? Well, they’d both enjoy her moving into his mansion, if likely for different reasons.

That said … Chris is a widely desired actor. And Alba isn’t desperate or struggling to make rent on a one-bedroom close enough to the bus stop to make it to work. So what exploitation could there be?

More significantly, this is not some sort of pattern for Chris. He’s not Leonardo DiCaprio and he’s not Scott Disick. Sometimes, two adults meet — especially two working in the same field. And sometimes they even fall in love.

So maybe the Age Gap Police should close this file and move on to a more pressing case. (Or, put another way: ACAB means Age Gap Police, too)

We are of course not suggesting that people are “not allowed” to feel uncomfortable. Sometimes, folks have personal experiences with moderate age gaps like this one. Trauma and heartbreak can influence our perspectives on many things.

That’s valid. What’s not valid is trying to publicly shame two adults who met normally, dated normally, and married. Personally disliking something does not make it inherently immoral. Sometimes, feelings are just feelings.

Chris Evans and Alba Baptista Marry, Get Shamed Over Age Gap by Weirdo Trolls was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.