Henry Cavill was 'super intimidated' meeting teenage girlfriend

Henry Cavill has opened up about his budding new romance with 19-year-old Tara King, confessing he was desperate to impress the college student the moment they met.

The 32-year-old Man of Steel star first became linked to Bristol University student Tara in October (15), when they were spotted attending a rugby match at London's Twickenham Stadium together.

They have managed to keep their relationship away from the spotlight in recent months, but now the usually-private actor has shed a little light on how he felt when they first got together.

"When I met my girlfriend, I was super intimidated," he told Elle magazine. "I wanted to impress her. I was thinking, 'Don't mess this up, man!'"

The suave Brit clearly won Tara over with his charm, and although he understands why some fans may be surprised to learn he is dating a woman 13 years his junior, he insists their age gap hasn't been an issue.

"People say age is just a number," he explained. "It's actually real and true sign of someone's maturity. But in this case, she's fantastic."

Henry goes on to reveal he is no stranger to dating women of different ages.

"When I was 19, I was going out with a 32-year-old," he stated, before admitting the relationship was hugely beneficial to him as a young man, because she taught him "things I can't mention in this article".

Henry has enjoyed an active dating life of late - he was linked to Paris Hilton a year ago (15), while he also enjoyed a brief fling with TV star Kaley Cuoco in the summer of 2013, during a break from his on/off girlfriend, mixed martial arts fighter-turned-actress Gina Carano. The couple split for good in 2014.