As one of the best rom-coms in cinema history, the 1990 movie Pretty Woman still holds up even 35 years later — for the most part, anyway. Richard Gere and Julia Roberts star as Edward Lewis, a corporate raider, and Vivian Ward, a Sєx worker, respectively. Over the course of a week, the two unexpectedly fall in love, despite their very different backgrounds, and ultimately live happily ever after.

While Gere had already established himself as one of Hollywood’s top leading men, Pretty Woman was Roberts’s breakout role. Her natural charm, talent, and 1000-watt smile immediately endeared her to audiences, and her impressive performance as Vivian was played with a maturity and grace that even some veteran actors could never have equaled. Even more surprising is how young Roberts was when she played the role — which, given the age gap between her and Gere, did stir up some mixed feelings for me.

Richard Gere Was 40 & Julia Roberts Was 22 When They Filmed Pretty Woman

Their 18-Year-Age Gap Raised Some Eyebrows

Although she was only 21 years old when Pretty Woman started pre-production, Julia Roberts charmed director Garry Marshall with her charisma and wit, which ultimately won her the role. The tone of Pretty Woman was originally meant to be much darker, but it was rewritten as a romantic comedy, mainly due to the natural chemistry between Roberts and Gere. The romantic scenes between the two characters were electric, although I have to admit, the difference between their ages is a bit shocking, as Gere was 40 years old at the time of filming, and Roberts was 22.

While it may seem problematic that there was an 18-year age gap between the two leads, that’s not the most troubling thing about the movie. Both characters were consenting adults, after all. What is disturbing is the way that Pretty Woman depicts Sєx work as sleazy, demeaning, and something to be rescued from. Vivian confides to Edward that she fantasizes about a knight on a white horse coming to save her — as though women in the professional Sєx industry are damsels in distress, and that is absolutely not the case.

Gere Was 49 & Roberts Was 31 When They Reunited For Runaway Bride

Their Age Gap Was Less Of An Issue In This Film

Nine years after the enormous success of Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts and Richard Gere (along with director Garry Marshall) reunited for the 1999 romantic comedy Runaway Bride. The movie’s tone was much lighter than Pretty Woman, with the more family-friendly plot earning a PG rating rather than the former’s R-rated content.

Roberts is Maggie Carpenter, a small town Maryland native with a reputation for leaving men at the altar. Gere plays Ike Graham, a journalist who hears Maggie’s story from an ex-fiancé and writes an unfavorable article about her. When Maggie responds to the piece, insisting that Ike doesn’t know the whole story, he agrees to travel to Maryland to write an article covering her side of things. The two of them fall in love, but Maggie’s fear of commitment might result in her leaving yet another groom in the lurch.

With almost 10 years since Pretty Woman, Roberts’ age of 31 and Gere’s age of 49 no longer seemed to be much of an issue — the reason likely being that there is a vast difference in life experience between a 22-year-old and a 31-year-old. Even so, I can’t help but wonder if the prejudice in the age gap from Pretty Woman had to do with Vivian’s profession rather than how young she was.

Roberts Has A Dark Theory About What Happened To Her & Gere’s Pretty Woman Characters

She Thinks Edward Died & Vivian Became CEO Of His Company

After a successful career spanning over 30 years, Julia Roberts has a lot of iconic roles to look back on. In a 2023 interview with Gayle King on CBS Mornings, Roberts played a game of “Where are they now?” regarding her famous on-screen personas and their love interests. High up on the list was Pretty Woman, and the actor’s thoughts on what happened to Gere’s character were actually quite dark:

“I think he pᴀssed away peacefully in his sleep from a heart attack, smiling. And now she runs his business.”

Although she was probably joking (mostly), it’s an interesting take on both Edward and Vivian’s characters. Presumably, Roberts’ theory was meant to take place in the far future, rather than shortly after the ending of Pretty Woman (at least, I hope). I’d like to think that after a few decades of a happy life together, Vivian would have picked up quite a bit about the corporate business world from Edward. And, with her newfound skills, she might have impressed Edward enough to have him leave her the company in his will. Personally, I think Vivian would have rocked as a CEO.