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Jan 12, 2012

Madonna on Younger Men, Missing ‘Certain Things’ About Marriage

Notoriously private Madonna opened up about dating a man less than half her age in a rare interview — but not without a putting up a fight.

“Aren’t people tired of that subject?” she quipped to “Nightline” anchor Cynthia McFadden in an exclusive with ABC News.

Of course not.

It’s been three years since Madonna’s highly publicized divorce from British director Guy Richie, and the 53-year-old star has caught flack for dating younger men. Her current flame is 24-year-old French dancer Brahim Zaibat, but prior to that she dated Brazilian model Jesus Luz, now also 24.

“I didn’t choose to, you know, I didn’t, like, write down on a piece of paper I’m now going to have a relationship with a younger man,” Madonna told McFadden. “That’s just what happened. You see, that’s the romantic in me. I just met someone that I cared for, and this happened to be his age.”

But when asked what she found appealing about younger man, the Material Girl tried to shut down the line of questioning with, “I don’t feel comfortable with this conversation.”

McFadden pressed Madonna about her own experience with love, a central theme to the pop icon’s upcoming film, “W.E.,” which explores the relationship between commoner Wallis Simpson and Britain’s King Edward VIII.

Madonna revealed she wants a partner in life and that there were even “certain things” she missed about being married, such as “being a part of a family unit” and “not having to make all the decisions on my own.”

“I don’t want to live my life on my own,” she said. “I love being a mother. My children fill me up in many ways, and inspire me in many ways, but I need a partner in my life and I think most people feel that way. I’ve never really lived a conventional life, so I think it’s quite foolish for me or anyone else to start thinking that I am going to start making conventional choices.”

Putting family first, one of the most important things Madonna said she looks for in a partner is someone whom her two biological children, Lourdes, 15, and Rocco, 11, and her two adopted children, David Banda and Mercy James, both 6, will respect.

“Someone who feels a connection with my children and respects the idea that they have to be a role model as well,” Madonna said. “It’s a lot to live up to.”

As for her current relationship with Zaibat, Madonna claimed she is actually the low-maintenance “easy” one between the two of them.

“I go home and I wash my face and I put on my sweatpants and I lay down on the bed and I say, ‘oh, please rub my feet,’ and you know, he says, ‘no, you rub my feet,’” Madonna said. “So, you know, behind the curtain, I’m just like everybody else.”

ABC