At Maturity Dating, we’re proud to have brought countless single and mature daters together over the years. Dating over 50 isn’t traditionally the easiest thing, but online dating has given a fantastic platform to those of us looking for that special somebody. Every now and then, we hear about a fantastic success story and have to share it.
In this article, we’re going to share three of those success stories, as sent in by our beautiful 50 up singles, or should we say 50 up couples? Read on.
Claire and Mike.
After I lost my husband in a car accident in 2009, I never thought I’d be happy again. He was my first and only love and we’d been together for forty-two wonderful years. As time went on, I threw myself into my work and hobbies, but I couldn’t shake off my loneliness. Because I’d known my husband since high school, I’d never been in the dating game and was petrified about the idea of putting myself out there, especially because I felt ‘too old’ to date, being in my early sixties and all.
It was my daughter that put me onto online dating, and after a lot of umming and ahhing, she helped me to pick out some flattering photos and write my profile. It was so daunting writing about myself! But once I plucked up the courage to go live, I was overwhelmed with the response I received. It was such an ego boost to receive so much attention from so many men, I swear it took years off me!
When Mike contacted me, he really did sweep me off my feet! He was charming and funny and I couldn’t stop myself from re-reading his profile over and over. I had yet to go on any actual dates, so after two weeks of e-mailing, texting and calling I couldn’t wait to meet him in person. He seemed so genuine, caring and shared a lot of the same beliefs and dreams as me; he too had lost his wife a few years ago so I felt that we could relate.
I was extremely nervous about meeting Mike in person, but my daughter drove me to the restaurant to make sure everything was safe. Our first date was a whirlwind of bashful smiles, clumsy hand grazes and awkward giggles. That night I couldn’t sleep, I just kept going over our magical night, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
We started seeing each other regularly and it wasn’t long before I removed my online dating profile. Mike and I have been together now for just over a year and are looking forward to many more to come. Our families have welcomed each other in with open arms and we both thank the stars each and every day; online dating has allowed me to find my forever friend.
Greg and Rosie.
My wife Rosie and me met through online dating four and a half years ago. Prior to that, I had been a dedicated single dad for a very long time! I decided to try online dating after a friend successfully met his partner. I thought, ‘what the heck’, if nothing else it would be a bit of fun and I could potentially meet my soul mate! I online dated on and off for a year and went on a number of weird and wonderful dates during which time I learnt a lot about myself, what I liked, disliked, what I was willing to compromise and what I truly believed in. It was a massive eye-opener for me!
When I first saw Rosie’s profile, I couldn’t help but smile. Her profile picture was her rolling around with her three ‘kids’ – three massive Great Dane dogs! It was such an honest, genuine portrayal and I couldn’t wait to learn more about her. Funnily enough, it wasn’t love at first click for Rosie and she certainly put me through my paces and made me work for her (I later found out that she was being bombarded by a significant number of suitors and was sick and tired of the same old clichéd emails). After 3 weeks of relentless persuasion she finally accepted to go on a date with me, wahoo!
What made me fall for Rosie’s profile wasn’t just her lovely photo, but how open and honest she was; there was a massive sense of vulnerability that I found very endearing and completely unique in the online dating world. When we met, I knew I had found my special someone. It was like we’d known each other our entire lives, we just hadn’t met yet.
My two children fell in love with her immediately, and I with her dogs. We spent weekends away hiking, skiing, and sightseeing. Long, cold nights curled up by the fire. Holidays to Europe. On our 6 month anniversary I couldn’t wait any longer… I proposed to her in Venice under the stars and she said yes!
We had a beautiful, modest wedding at her parents’ home in the country with all of our family and friends and honeymooned for a glorious week in Portugal. We now live in a lovely little cottage by the sea with Rosie’s dogs and my two grown up kids visit often.
I cannot praise online dating enough, I never would have met Rosie if it wasn’t for the internet, I feel like the luckiest man on the planet.
Brian and Mary.
I had never considered myself lucky in love. With three failed marriages behind me and a broken heart, I decided to give up on my love life and concentrate on my writing career. One day when I was surfing the net, I saw an advert for online dating and thought I’d give it a go. Being a writer is a lonesome lifestyle and after 10 years of living in solitude, I figured I should give love another shot.
Online dating opened up a whole new world for me. Before I wrote my profile, I decided that I needed to get out there and start living my life; I thought that in order to sell myself successfully I should have some legitimate interests and hobbies instead of just staring out of the window with writers block! So I joined a pottery class and started learning to play the guitar- two things that I’ve always wanted to do.
By spending the time on myself, I automatically started to feel more confident and proud of myself and this propelled me to write my profile. It was very daunting putting myself out there like that, but also very liberating. I was rejected often in the early days, but after re-jigging my profile and choosing a more sincere photo I struck gold.
I made the initial contact with Mary, a retired primary school teacher with the biggest heart, 2 months after I joined the dating site. Her profile picture showed the kindest eyes I’d ever seen, and her profile was so sweet. She was clearly very devoted to her children and grandkids, was passionate about helping people, loved her little cat to pieces and was a keen guitarist. I spent an entire day brainstorming, writing and screwing up letters trying to find the perfect words to say to her. I wanted to make the best possible first impression but everything I wrote sounded cheesy or desperate.
I finally decided to video myself playing an Elvis song (she mentioned being an Elvis fan!) And low and behold, she responded! We e-mailed back and forth for a couple of weeks before exchanging numbers; we were both cautious and respected each other enough to take it slowly. We spoke a lot about our pasts, present and future. What our aspirations were, our fears, our dreams. We would stay up on the phone all night, laughing until we cried at times! We became very close through our daily chats, though we were both nervous about bringing our relationship to reality and actually meeting in person.
We had a number of false first dates whereby either she or I would cancel at the last minute due to this or that….but we both understood that we were scared of bursting our beautiful bubble. What if we didn’t like each other in person?!
Finally, after two months of talking daily, we bit the bullet and met for coffee. It was probably one of the most intimidating experiences of my life! I had fallen in love with Mary during our 2 months of hiding behind a screen and I was so afraid of losing her, my hands have never shook so much in my life!
Our first date was awkward to say the least. Long silences broken by us both going to talk at the same time, we were both so nervous the table was trembling! We ended up walking for the rest of the day, and as the minutes turned in to hours, we slowly relaxed enough to be able to hold hands in the park, and sealed the end of the date with a bumbling yet beautiful kiss on the cheek.
It took us a few dates to become completely relaxed with each other, but before long we became inseparable. Mary went through a traumatic divorce, and what with my marital history, we have decided to not tie the knot. We have however been happily living together for the past 6 months and are in the process of opening our very own pottery workshop!
I don’t believe I ever would’ve met anyone if it wasn’t for online dating. It’s so hard to just ‘meet someone’ these days at the supermarket, park or local pub. I think it’s wonderful that the internet can bring people from all over the world together. I am blessed to have met my Mary.