Dutch man, 69, files lawsuit to lower his age by 20 years for better dating, job prospects, Europe News & Top Stories

A 69-year-old Dutch man who claims that he looks young and feels young now wants his age to be legally lowered by 20 years too.

Mr Emile Ratelbrand, an entrepreneur and self-help guru, is hoping that doing so will get him better luck with women, especially when he goes on dating app Tinder, as well as better job prospects.

Mr Ratelbrand has filed a lawsuit against the Dutch government to change his birth date from March 11, 1949 to March 11, 1969.

Doing so would make him 49 years old, which he argues would allow him to “live differently”.

“You can change your name. You can change your gender. Why not your age? Nowhere are you so discriminated against as with your age,” he was quoted as saying by Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf on Oct 27.

Mr Ratelbrand also argued in court that because of his age, companies were unwilling to hire him and he also had few matches on Tinder.

“When I’m 69, I am limited. If I’m 49, then I can buy a new house, drive a different car. I can take up more work,” he said.

“When I’m on Tinder and it says I’m 69, I don’t get an answer. When I’m 49, with the face I have, I will be in a luxurious position.”

Furthermore, he argued that doctors have badessed that he has the body of a 45-year-old.

He added that doctors have described him as a “young god”.

According to British newspaper The Daily Express, the judge in Arnhem, in the eastern province of Gelderland, was sympathetic of Mr Ratelbrand’s argument and even conceded that legally changing one’s gender was unthinkable years ago.

However, the judge argued that there would be problems from a legal standpoint if people were allowed to change their birth date.

This would essentially be deleting the first 20 years of Mr Ratelbrand’s life, the judge added.

He said: “For whom did your parents care in those years? Who was that little boy back then?”

The court is due to deliver its decision on Mr Ratelband’s age within four weeks.

BBC reported that Mr Ratelband is a media personality who had voiced the character Vladimir Trunkov in the Dutch-language version of the Pixar film Cars 2.