Rebecca & Sam's Age-Gap Relationship On Ted Lasso Has Generated A Lot Of Buzz

Apple TV+'s "Ted Lasso" captivated audiences with its sweet, well-written scripts and charismatic characters, but the show hasn't been immune from controversial storylines. The secret fling that Sam Obisanya and Rebecca Welton strike up in Season 2 had fans talking left and right. Played by Toheeb Jimoh, Sam is an athlete who plays for AFC Richmond, the soccer club owned by Rebecca, portrayed by Hannah Waddingham (whom fans may recognize from "Game of Thrones"). He's 21 while she's in her late 40s. Fans had strong opinions regarding the scenario as a whole.

While many understood the premise that Sam and Rebecca met anonymously on a dating app without knowing each other's identity or age, they defended that they — particularly Rebecca — should have had the sense to know it was a bad idea as soon as they discovered who the other person was. "Rebecca really should've put a stop to it at the restaurant instead of giving in to the 'we're just two people having dinner' thing," a Reddit user argued, referring to the scene in which Sam revealed his age.

Others agreed, suggesting that the age difference was just one factor in a complicated scenario of power imbalances. The boss-subordinate dynamics rubbed people the wrong way, even if they disagreed that there was a big power imbalance between Sam and Rebecca. "The age gap is certainly a little big, but both are very successful and powerful people, so I think it could work. That said, the fact that she's his boss makes this not ok," another netizen argued. Perhaps it isn't exactly shocking that the romance was short-lived.

At the end of Season 2, Toheeb Jimoh and Hannah Waddingham's characters end their brief fling on amicable terms. Sam Obisanya and Rebecca Welton themselves agreed with the fan opinion that they were better off as friends. Given how short-lived the romance was, many fans questioned what purpose it had served on the show. "It also didn't go anywhere so what was even the point? Who was it for? I didn't notice any character development because of this relationship so it seemed like a weird thing," a Reddit user wondered.

But other fans disagreed that it was pointless. While the "Ted Lasso" star is gorgeous in real-life, Waddingham's character had recently come out of a toxic marriage and was trying to rediscover her self-esteem in that regard. "Having a hot, incredibly kind and good footballer show her she was still desirable and worthy of a crush started bringing her out of her bitter hate everyone shell," a Redditor argued.

And Jimoh himself thought his character also gained from the experience, despite the briefness. "I was just really glad that we got to explore this version of Sam. In season two, he's growing up a lot more. He's learning to stand on his own two feet," he told Vulture in 2021. Besides, Jimoh was excited to spend more time onscreen with Waddingham. As it turns out, the "Ted Lasso" stars were had a strong friendship behind the scenes, so that helped. "The first thing I did was call Hannah, and we just geeked out," he shared. Regardless of where one stands, one thing is for sure: everyone had something to say about Sam and Rebecca's relationship.