It's just an observation, which I've had the fortune to disuss with a couple of people in psychology - one of which has worked couple's therapy for a long while. And I think it makes sense.
Part of it is purely about society's concept of beauty. As you know, when we get older we get wrinkles, grey hair, and seem to accrue fat in the most inconvenient places. For a woman, maybe her breasts aren't as perky as they used to be. The man, if not blessed, goes bald. This process, in large part due to unrealistic expectations from men I'd say, generally isn't favourable to women, wouldn't you agree? Some of these new features can actually make a man more attractive. The grey hair, for instance. Some men's beards take into their 30s to fully develop. Other features don't really seem to matter much to women. A few wrinkles here and there, for instance. It's probably easiest to spot looking at pairs of actors from the 70s and 80s, whom we follow but only have a shallow relationship to. See were they were then, and where they are now.
But there's another aspect. Young men don't have a whole lot to offer outside of maybe virility. No education, no career, maybe some ambitions but generally just figuring stuff out. As they mature, they gain confidence, depth, experience, and become more grounded. I think women appreciate these attributes in men moreso than vice versa.
TL;DR I think men tend to emphasize looks more throughout life. Just generally have unrealistic expectations of women, particularly as they age. Young women are a hot commodity. And the studies I talked about earlier say that men cheat more out of physical dissatisfaction than women, and that it's more likely to happen at a later stage in the relationship. Which seems to be in agreeance.
It got long (AGAIN lol), but hopefully explains my thinking a bit.
