AARP Hearing Center
Brian Austin Green, 53, on His Lower Sex Drive and Making Time for Intimacy
The ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ actor says getting older has changed his desire and how he prioritizes time with his partner
Brian Austin Green, seen here in August 2026, said his sex drive has gone down as he’s gotten older.
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
Key takeaways
- Brian Austin Green says his sex drive has declined with age.
- He recommends busy couples schedule intimate time, though he draws a distinction between intimacy and sex.
- Sex therapists say libido can change with age, and intimacy does not have to center on intercourse.
Brian Austin Green says his sex drive has declined as he has gotten older. He also says couples may need to stop waiting for intimacy to happen spontaneously and put time for each other on the calendar.
Asked on the Aug. 29 episode of the I Do, Part 2 podcast whether men notice their sex drive decreasing with age, Green, 53, answered without hesitation.
More Ways to Benefit
- Related Benefit 1
- Related Benefit 2
- Related Benefit 3
- Related Benefit 4
- Related Benefit 5
“Sure. Absolutely. Of course,” he said. “That is a chemical thing. That is testosterone. And that is what men, as they age, start naturally losing.”
Green made clear he was speaking from experience.
Brian Austin Green played David Silver on the teen drama “Beverly Hills, 90210.”
©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett C
“Absolutely. Sex drive lowers,” he said. “There’s no way to avoid that. I didn’t ask for it.”
For Gen Xers who watched Green grow up as David Silver on the teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210, his comments mark a very different stage of adulthood. Green also said getting older has changed what intimacy means to him.
“It’s not just the physical act the same way,” he said. “It’s the connection.”
That distinction came up in even greater detail during an earlier July episode of I Do, Part 2. A caller asked Green whether couples should schedule time to be intimate when work, children and daily responsibilities crowd the calendar.
Green said he and his fiancée, Dancing With the Stars pro Sharna Burgess, had recently come across the same idea. His first reaction was skepticism.
“It seemed too premeditated and mundane,” he said. “It’s: Oh, well, if there’s passion, this should just sort of happen on its own. And then what if I’m not in the mood when we do it, when we have our scheduled time?”
What changed his thinking was the idea that scheduled intimacy does not have to mean scheduled sex.
“Sometimes that’s not sexually intimate,” Green said. “Sometimes that is just intimate in a way of being connected and talking to each other and listening to each other. And then sometimes that will lead to physical intimacy.”
For Green, the important part is protecting time for the relationship.
“I think when you have a busy, busy life, it’s important,” he said. “I think it’s important to make sure that you are connecting with your partner.”
He suggested date nights, dinners or even an overnight stay at a hotel without the kids. “I don’t think scheduling sex necessarily is what is important,” he said. “Sex is very important, but I think just scheduling intimate time.”
Green has firsthand experience with a packed family schedule. He is the father of five sons. Kassius, 24, is his son with former partner Vanessa Marcil. He shares Noah, 13, Bodhi, 12, and Journey, 10, with ex-wife Megan Fox. His youngest son, Zane, 4, is with Burgess. Green and Burgess got engaged in 2023.
Intimacy tips for older adults
For more ways to stay comfortable and connected in the bedroom as you age, AARP’s guide to pain-free sex positions for people 50-plus offers expert advice on adapting positions, allowing more time for arousal and working around joint pain, mobility issues and other physical changes.
Green has said their relationship began differently from those he had when he was younger. On the July episode of I Do, Part 2, he said that before Burgess, “I led with physical attraction. First, I’d be physically attracted to somebody and then sort of build a relationship around that.”
With Burgess, Green said, the two spent time talking when they first met and developed a friendship before becoming physically involved.
Medical professionals and sex therapists say changes in desire are common with age. In AARP’s sex and relationship column In the Mood, sexuality educator and retired ob-gyn Dr. Gretchen Frey said lower desire can stem from “dissatisfaction with a partner,” fatigue, illness, life distractions or “simple biology.” Ob-gyn Dr. Maureen Slattery also urged people to broaden their definition of sex. Instead of thinking only about intercourse, she told AARP, “think of it as the pleasure and intimacy you experience with sex.”
A separate AARP story makes a similar point about intimacy later in life. “Hormonal shifts, menopause, erectile changes, medications and chronic health conditions are all common parts of aging, and none of them mean intimacy has to disappear,” certified sex therapist Gabby Jimmerson told AARP. And clinical sexologist Lori Davis said couples may benefit from moving away from intercourse as the goal: “Many couples discover that when they stop fixating on penetrative sex as the goal, they open up a whole world of pleasure and intimacy they’d been missing.”
The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.
AARP Membership
Join AARP for only $15 per year with automatic renewal. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of benefits, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP The Magazine.
More From AARP
Dick Van Dyke Hangs Upside Down at 100
His longtime routine includes stretching, crunches, yoga and the gym three times a week
Busy Philipps, 47, on Her Brain Tumor Diagnosis
A February MRI found a brain tumor; a staph infection led to a second surgery in April
Dolly Parton Made This Interview Personal
A journalist recalls the star’s wit, kindness and decades of unexpected connection