How DO you bag a toyboy young enough to be your son? - PHOTO+VIDEO

With her honey-streaked blonde locks, unlined skin and sweet smile, Sheri Winkelmann, an actress and playwright, looks years younger than her real age of 51.But it's possible that her preternaturally youthful looks are the result not of good skincare but the famous maxim: 'you're only as old as the man you feel'.And for Sheri, that means very young indeed. Her boyfriend of just over a year, up-and-coming actor Desmond Huey, is just 26 years old.Now the couple are to appear on TLC documentary, Extreme Cougar Wives, which explores what life is like when your other half is young enough to be your son.And for Sheri, life with Desmond is so good, she wouldn't change a single thing. 'It's been about 15 months and it's going good,' she says of her relationship.'He's a very unusual young man and he's very mature for his age. I feel I have a trusted equal partner and he's never ever done anything to drive me up the wall!'Wonderful though her other half is, she admits there have been moments where others haven't been quite so understanding.'I do wonder whether people are reacting to the age difference or the fact that we're black and white,' she muses.'But there has been no real opposition. Perhaps it would be an issue if we were living in an all-white town in the countryside but here in Chicago, people are more open minded.'The couple, who first met more than two years ago at a conference in Palm Springs, were friends for 12 months before Desmond finally made his move.'I think it [the relationship] works because of our shared value system,' she explains. 'Obviously having children is a big issue but he's not ready so not an issue yet.'What's different is that we really love each other in the purest sense, so we will do what's best for each other even if that means not being together.'Despite acknowledging the potential pitfalls, Sheri thinks its time women stopped fixating on age and opened themselves up to relationships with men they might not have considered.'I never like to be limited by a label,' she explains. 'Cougar doesn't necessarily have the most positive connotations but people should open up to love, and if comes in form of someone younger, then don't dismiss it. 'Before meeting Desmond, I had rejected the idea of dating someone younger but he just wore me down. 'I would tell other women to trust their insticts and go with the flow - love comes in all kinds of odd packages.'(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az