Melanie Hamrick Doesn't 'Think About' Her 44-Year Age Gap with Partner Mick Jagger: 'Am I Happy? Yes'

Melanie Hamrick is paying no mind to those who take issue with the age gap between her and longtime partner Mick Jagger.

Hamrick, 37, and Jagger, 81, have been dating for more than 10 years, and share a 7-year-old son named Deveraux. In a new interview with The Times, the author and retired ballerina opened up about choosing not to focus on the 44 years between them.

“I don’t think about it. Everyone’s going to have their opinion. If you think about others’ opinions, no matter where you are in life, you’re going to have a problem and you’re going to analyze it,” she said.

Hamrick added that she puts “the blinders on” when it comes to her perspective: “Am I happy? Yes. Are the people in my life happy? Yes. Am I hurting anyone? No. OK, they can mind their own business.”

The First Position author — who recently published her second novel, Unraveling — first met Jagger in February 2014 at a Rolling Stones concert in Tokyo. She was attending with other dancers from the American Ballet Theatre, of which she was a member for 15 years before she retired in 2019.

Hamrick told The Times that the rocker first greeted her backstage with a fist bump — but that she was far from starstruck.

“Ballet dancers meet some of the biggest stars and act like, ‘Who are you?’ Because, to us, ballet dancers are the gods. That’s who you study and look up to. You’re so in your world,” she said. “Mick is the perfect balance. He’s not a ballet dancer but he is a dancer and a performer, and we understand each other’s worlds, yet we’re not in each other’s worlds.”

In June 2023, Hamrick opened up to PEOPLE about the significance of a diamond ring on her finger that was given to her by Jagger — but revealed the pair are in no rush to walk down the aisle.

"I mean, I have to giggle because did Mick give me the ring? Yes. Is it for that finger? Yes," she said at the time. "But are we like, horny teenagers where we’re giving each other… In my mind, it's a promise ring. We'll be immature and call it a promise ring."

When asked if she ever saw herself getting married, Hamrick was uncertain. "I don’t know," she said. "I'm kind of like, a live-in-the-moment type of person, so who knows."

Hamrick and Jagger previously teamed up for the 2019 ballet Porte Rouge, for which she picked the music (all from the Rolling Stones catalog) and did the choreography.

In July, she celebrated the star’s 81st birthday with a sweet Instagram post that featured family shots with their young son.

"Happy Birthday babe !! We love you 🥰 ❤️," Hamrick captioned the post.