Many of us howled with laughter at footage of Jessica Te Huia (left) being caught in her ‘jocks’ with Lorenzo Hilton (right), the 19-year-old son of her ex-partner Levi Hilton

Daily Mail columnist Amanda Goff (pictured) says the quiet part out loud about the ‘stepmum in bed’ scandal

I tip my hat to you, Gold Coast: five-star entertainment that has the world well and truly hooked. I’ve had friends from all four corners of the globe ask about it.

Since that fateful video went wild, the story has only escalated.

Lorenzo professed his undying love for Jessica in a text to his father, while Levi appeared on Instagram issuing an alleged death threat to his son in a post that has since been deleted. As I write this, Queensland police are investigating.

Oh, and Jessica and Lorenzo have broken up.

But this column isn’t about the so-called ‘stepmum scandal’. For starters, it wasn’t really a scandal: she was only dad’s girlfriend and they had already split up when she hopped into bed with his son. And secondly, they are both consenting adults.

This is about a young man and an older woman – and the illusion that it’s somehow scandalous when, in reality, it’s the most common, bog-standard sexual fantasy going today.

Jessica is 38; Lorenzo is 19. For a 19-year-old boy, hooking up with a woman that age is a dream. If there’s one thing I know, it’s sex – and this kink is ancient. Trust me.

Cougar-cub romances happen far more often than most care to admit.

During my time as high-class escort Samantha X, the stepmother fantasy was a surprisingly popular request – though I’ll admit, a part of me was slightly insulted whenever a younger male client asked for it (did I really look that old even then?)

Here’s the point: yes, it’s easy to gawk at Lorenzo and Jess getting rumbled in their undies after a night of shagging, booze and McDonald’s.

But these fantasies don’t just live in our imaginations or on the internet. They happen behind closed doors. All. The. Time. Many families have these kinds of stories.

Personally, I know two respectable women in the eastern suburbs of Sydney who have bonked the adult son of their partner or ex-partner.

One woman in her 50s told me her ex-partner’s son and his mates (all in their early 20s) were all ‘so handsome’ that she made a deal with the young man during their affair: don’t sleep with my friends and I won’t sleep with yours.

And I know of one woman who was caught in bed with her adult stepson (again, both consenting adults) by her partner. The only difference to the Gold Coast case was that she was still living with her partner at the time.

She blamed booze, and was then kicked out of their multimillion-dollar mansion. Last I heard, she’d got sober, her partner had taken her back, and the son had moved to the other side of the world.

So can we stop pretending to be so shocked? Rooting the MILF who, until recently, was dating your father is not a new sexual invention conjured up by the colourful inhabitants of the Gold Coast.

The reality is younger men have been drawn to older women since the beginning of time. The stepson-stepmum fantasy has existed well before Pornhub.

And most men – and women – understand it, deep down. The only reason why these pairings get attention is because of sexist double standards that rule all relationships.

Older men have been bedding younger women since the dawn of time – and society hardly bats an eyelid. Men get a free pass, while women are ridiculed and shamed.

When a 55-year-old man dates a 25-year-old woman, it’s a triumph. Flip the script, and a 55-year-old woman with a 25-year-old man is deemed suspicious, laughable, even predatory.

Make it make sense.

But I think the reason that this story has exploded is because it taps into something deeper than an older woman/toyboy scenario.

It’s the danger. The forbidden fruit.

Human beings have always been captivated by taboo attraction. Always. It’s exciting, naughty, dangerous. And what could be sexier than that?

My girlfriends – a mix of mums, divorcees, wives and happily single women – barely batted an eyelid when this story hit the press.

The age gap? Meh. Some of my friends in their 50s are dating much younger men (that’s a column for another day). And the older women who date toyboys know that it’s the boys who do all the chasing.

Jessica is pushing 40; Lorenzo just entering his 20s. They’re obviously at different stages in life and no one expected them to make it down the aisle. But if they want to UberEats a few Big Macs and get frisky while Dad’s away, I say let them.

The only part that concerns me is that now they will forever be known as ‘that family’.

Once everyone has moved on and bridges are mended, the mocking videos, news articles and damning screenshots will remain online. Forever.

The internet never forgets.

And if anyone knows how it feels to have your past come back to haunt you long after you’ve tried to make peace and move on, it’s yours truly.

Still, the trio can take some solace in having captivated the world – if only for a few fleeting days.

But make no mistake: the taboo love story at the heart of this is neither rare nor extraordinary. While it found a home on the Gold Coast this time, these relationships happen everywhere, from the mansions of Toorak to the waterfront homes of Double Bay.

The truth is, people aren’t just sharing this story because it’s outrageous. They’re sharing it because it feels familiar – even desirable.

And that’s the part few will ever admit out loud.