Edward and Dorothy (both 61) met through this very online dating website. Here, Edward tells the story of how they met, in another success story from our users.

My children and grandchildren had been on my back for years about finding a woman to grow old with. My wife had died twenty-five long years ago, and I’d never met anyone else. I prided myself on spending time with my children, and then when the grandkids arrived, they kept me busy! I’d always had a fulfilling social life, I was involved in various clubs and groups, always had a dog or two for company and I suppose, I always held a candle for my late wife.

Last year, as a birthday surprise for my 60th, my family had created an online profile on a dating site for me. Although I laughed it off to begin with, it did get me thinking. I realised that the grandkids were growing up and would be moving away to University soon, and that my busy social life was slowing down somewhat. For the first time since my wife had passed away, I seriously considered dating again.

After a month of umming and ahhing, I decided to go for it. Online dating was a strange, confusing, frustrating, funny, lovely, lonely, learning experience for me. I hadn’t been on a date for such a long time that I was a little rusty to say the least – and I had my fair share of blundering moments. But after a couple of months, I started to get into the swing of it, gained confidence and started to actually enjoy the process.

I met some lovely ladies, had some fantastic dates and learnt a lot about myself and what I was looking for. By the time I met Dorothy, I wasn’t actively looking for The One, I was more enjoying the routine of chatting with new people, getting out and meeting for a date, sharing an experience; all with no pressure. Dorothy was in the same boat; she took dating in her stride, had realistic expectations and took each date as a wonderful new opportunity. We had a blast together.

Even though we both clearly had feelings for each other, I was nervous about taking things further after being alone for so long. She too was cautious as she had lost her husband ten years previously and had been playing the online dating game for three years. So we continued to meet each other, but also continued to date other people. Online dating was like our comfort blanket! We were both afraid to step into the unknown, but finally, after 6 months of seeing each other twice a week and talking on the phone every night, we deleted our online dating profiles and took the plunge, announcing to each of our families that we were ‘going steady’!

I feel like a teenager again, the rush and excitement of love is thrilling and I feel like I’ve lost ten years. We’ve been dating now for about a year and are looking at properties by the beach to buy, where we can walk our dogs, relax, where our kids and grandkids can come and visit; but mostly, it will be a fresh start for us both in our new home with our new life, together.

For more stories, tips, advice and statistics, check out the Maturity Dating UK Blog!