Is 17 years too big of an age gap?

Hi! I (29F) am starting to catch feelings for an ex-coworker (46M).

We met at work and gradually started getting close as we spent more time together. We started texting and hanging out outside of work recently. Nothing happened yet because I’ve put a stop to it, but he is definitely interested.

When I say I’ve put a stop to it, it just means when we started talking more and I could tell he was interested I said I was not interested in taking it further. He was respectful, always told me he would never want me to feel like I “have” to hang out with him because we work together. But he’s also said he would like for me to give it a chance. I never really gave it a shot even in my mind because my past experience with dating at the workplace has been weird.

However Ive recently left my job for a better opportunity for myself, but we’ve continued to see each other.

In spending so much time together and, to be honest, talking non-stop when we weren’t, I can tell im starting to catch feelings for him. I think about him all the time, miss him when we’re not together and can see myself exploring it. We grew so close and he’s become someone I really trust in my life.

I feel like I dont really see an issue because I am 29, have supported myself since I was 19 and have never felt like he is in a position of power over me. I started working full time really young and Ive climbed a couple of steps in my career reallllly early on - so while we’re both doing good at work, he was not my boss or anything similar.

But he still is considerably older, divorced and with kids, and it feels scary to think I might be looking at it through rose colored glasses and missing red flags. Your girl might have read one too many reddit horror stories, lol.

Just reading over this, does it bring up any concerns? I desperately need an unbiased opinion.