8.
“I found love in the early time of COVID. June 2020. I decided to go back to online dating after a horrific dating experience with a psychopath. Met a wonderful man who swept me away from NYC to NJ, and I love it. New Yorkers really don’t know New Jersey. It’s so beautiful. By November 2020, we moved in together in NJ and have been very happy. One of the positives is that we both have gone through our share of life’s ups and downs. We know what we want and don’t want in a relationship and aren’t afraid to be vocal about it. Companionship rules over sex, which is something younger folks spend too much time worrying about. It’s one thing to be horny; it’s another when you think it’s the glue that keeps the relationship running. It’s important, but not nearly as much as really, truly enjoying each other’s company.”
“I don’t have children, but he does and is still supporting three young adults until they turn 22, and that time can’t get here fast enough. I tell my young nieces, nephews, cousins, etc. to slow their roll when family planning. I have had several relationships with men who had multiple children, and they are strapped for years and years after divorce. Kids cost a lot.
Love in my 50s has been extremely rewarding. We have learned to let go of the petty BS that dragged down our marriages and relationships of our 20s, 30s, and 40s. Pretending to have money we didn’t have to keep up with the Joneses, jealousies of what other friends had, just all the pretenses that we thought made us so important. Ha! Young people, enjoy your youth. Go dancing, hiking, travel, date, marry late, and have children even later.”
—59, New Jersey