Attack of the Clones is set ten years after Phantom Menace, making Anakin 19 and Padme 24. That is a completely normal-range age gap.
Meh, people who object to the relationship in AotC are typically (
culturally, mind) hysterical Americans. No one else really gives a shit. shrug
Besides, as mentioned before, they had no contact throughout the years between tPM and AotC, so nothing shady can be even perceived except for Anakin's innocent childhood crush (which came from his memories of being a nine year old) influencing his decisions.
Hell, the only (non-sexual) grooming that went on was ol' Sidious with Anakin, and that was because he was laying the groundwork for him to become Darth Vader already.
So what, she didn't impress me much and she willingly took part in and defended the shit they turned Wars into.
She can listen to the entire fandom playing the world's smallest violins to her for all I care.
Or she just liked the cocky, cute kid in a totally non-sexual, big sister way.
You know, hedpatting the scrappy kid and smiling and calling him so cute when he says he will marry her.
Only afterwards, it turns out he cleaned up nicely and started to make her coochie wet, when they were both legal.
She's a bit of a plain actress yeah, but I don't think/not sure her being part of Wars and being a
willing participant in its downfall is a thing, even if she does have a few "women stronk" attitudes herself (from interviews) -- it's hard to tell if that's what
she believes or what she was
pressured to say (which is a thing in Hollywood, especially under KK's dominance).
Imagine you just got a star role in the latest piece of work in a franchise you've been a fan of since you were a kid.
You sign the contracts.
You're on cloud nine.
And then you read the script.
"Okay, this looks bad, but maybe it can work."
Filming begins.
"Aw, shit. Grin and bear it, Daisy. You got this."
Not everything could be as black and white as it seems.