A person who will lie about aspects of who they are because they are concerned if you knew the real person you wouldn't date them? Really big red flag.
You do not want to date a person whose instinct is to lie about who they are or tell you what they think you want to hear. That isn't a real relationship. Also, it indicates the person involved has some emotional maturing to do...which isn't surprising considering she was 16 last month.
Age differences are really more about power imbalances and life situation. Age is often a good indicator of these imbalances, but not always.
When I was 25 I went to college for the first time. I ended up dating people who were also in college. We both had similar economic situations, similar life schedul...so as a 25 year old, dating a 20 year old peer was no big deal. On the other hand I was hit on by a 28 year old who was not in college, was a lawyer, had huge amounts of money, owned her own home, and was settled in the Bay Area. We were in totally different life situations, and there was a big power imbalance between us despite only being three years apart.
A just turned 17 year old high school student who lives with their parents and has neither economic nor legal autonomy really shouldn't be dating a 20 year old with that money and autonomy. There is a power imbalance there.
On the other hand, I new a 16 year old emancipated minor who lived on his own and worked full time. He dated older people people dating a 16 year old girl in high school resulted in problems because of live differences and power imbalances between them.
The older people get, barring strange things like being in school late in life or being a teen mom or something, the more likely people are to be in similar life positions...meaning less of a power imbalance.
However, the most important thing, is don't date people who aren't honest to you about who they are.
