Last night, NBC aired the season finale of Age of Love, it's newest reality dating show, and BuddyTV users responded in droves.  The last episode saw 30-year-old professional tennis player Mark Philippoussis choose 25-year-old Kitten Amanda Salinas over 48-year-old Cougar Jennifer Braff.  It was the result many people expected, despite NBC promos heralding a shocking twist.

Almost universally, BuddyTV readers resented this outcome.  Jennifer Braff has plenty of fans out there, and some of you even thought it was a good thing she lost.  Others simply thought Mark and Amanda deserve each other, as you don't like either of them.  But overall, most of our readers objected to the set-up and execution of Age of Love, finding fault in its casting choices, even offering up a few ideas on how to improve it.  Read below for a sampling of your opinions:

Kerin from Seattle summed up many of the comments quite succinctly: "Jen is so lucky he picked Amanda. He doesn't deserve Jen- she is way too much woman for him."

The BuddyTV comments were filled with similar remarks supporting Jennifer Braff, admiring her bright future.  fun40, also from Seattle, wrote, "Jen was the winner. Mark is too shallow and HE IS TOO YOUNG for Jen—she deserves someone sophisticated, established, and experienced. Jen will receive many, many offers from mature men that deserve her."

Jan from Wisconsin offered up this idea for the beloved Jennifer Braff: "Jen I agree with you that had you been younger you would have won! I think they should bring back Age of Love with Jen as the star and men in their 30's and 50's competing for her heart!"

The laundry list of older women jumping out in support of their 48-year-old hero continued with Ion, who wrote, "I am married to a younger man and I have dated older men. I know that kids would make all the difference, it did for me. This show was not fair that women should have been still in child bearing age. They need to redo it with women 5 years older and 5 years younger and then see what would have happened. My Husband is very very very happy with his older women."

Those problems with the game itself were echoed many times over.  Randi from Detroit agreed that the ages were too skewed, with Amanda being just five years younger, while Jennifer was 18 years older.  "Why did the show pick a 30 year old guy as the bachelor? He should have been midway between the age of the women," randi said.

Marie from Greensboro, NC felt the show answered the social experiment question, "Does age really matter?" by writing, "As if we needed any further confirmation, this show merely demonstrated that in our society, young and sexy will always win out over class, style, sophistication, elegance, intelligence, and true beauty. What a pity."

Delana from St. Croix was quite turned off by Mark Philippoussis' decision: "Amanda saying" I got my man," was so disgusting and possessive. Yuck. She's defined by a relationship and not much of a person on her own. Mark falling for it was just plain stupid."

However, there were a few Amanda Salinas supporters sprinkled throughout:

moonbeam from Raleigh: "Amanda is an excellent choice for Mark and I'm tired of the catty comments about her. ... Jen is lovely but she is just too old for him. Men, would you really want someone 18 years older? Age WILL be a factor at some point. ... Congrats to Amanda & Mark! Have fun!

Brad from Toronto: "I really liked the show. The entertainment value was beyond expectation. As for picking Amanda, I can't say it was a bad thing. Jen being 48 - didn't work with Mark. I just couldn't see it. ... I am looking forward to another season. This show was solid gold."

Danessa from Cincinnati, Ohio: "I thought both women were great and conducted themselves well..minus Jen's need to brag about her sexual exploits..but Amanda was sincere and honest about her feelings. Who would like a man you're falling for to be out with another woman?! I was rooting for her..they have the best chance for a real future together. She's sweet and shy and I felt her feelings ran deeper."


Read our Age of Love Finale recap to find even more user comments.


-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image courtesy of NBC)