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Looks like another one has hit the dust. And this time, it just might be me.
After decades of believing that romantic love is the essence of life – a magical gift that not only powers a rosy perspective but also generates a kaleidoscope of light that amplifies beauty, hope and connection – today, I’m not so sure.
More than half of single over-50s are content despite the absence of a committed partner.Credit: ISTOCK
I reckon I could comfortably join an ever-growing list of friends who openly say they are done, no longer interested in a romantic relationship whatsoever.
A lot of this has to do with age. I’m now in my 50s, as are most of the people I socialise with, and after some three-odd decades of engaging in mating, dating and relating, my friends and I are over the drama. And the compromise. And the expectations. We are also over the hurt.
Sex, too, no longer holds the power it once did. Yes, it’s still something desirable, but at what cost? For many, the price is just too high when it intrudes on freedom.
At first, I didn’t really believe my friends actually meant they were giving up. I thought, like me, they were just going through a period I like to call “long service”. They just hadn’t met the right person, I rationalised. Or were set in their ways. Or were tired of modern dating. Sex was no longer a priority (my girlfriends have toys they say fixes that need). But to truly give up on love … well, I thought that was an impossibility, like giving up on life.
Sex was no longer a priority. But to truly give up on love … well, I thought that was an impossibility, like giving up on life.
WENDY SQUIRES
It seems I am wrong. A 2023 Australian Seniors report, “Love After 50”, shows almost a third (29 per cent) of single over-50s indicate their single status positively influences their happiness. More than half (55 per cent) of single over-50s are content despite the absence of a committed partner and a similar number (57 per cent) are happy to remain single at this stage in their lives.
Seems singles aren’t the only ones seeing a partner-free existence as preferable, either. More than a third (37 per cent) of 50-pluses in relationships question whether to continue, while a quarter are seriously considering separating or getting divorced. So much for the mythologised fear of dying alone.
