Love After 50: Why Men Have the Advantage (2025)

As Featured in the Sooner Spectator August Issue

If you have been keeping up with recent news, you may have noticed all of the talk regarding the fact that the American divorce rate has declined in the last 20 years with the exception of the over 50s crowd. This “revolution” is causing both men and women from their 50s to their 80s to re-enter the dating scene after not being on a single date since their 20s.  This may feel like unknown and confusing territory. However, now is the perfect time to make an appearance on the dating stage, especially for the post-50s male. Here’s why:

It’s not about chronological age, it’s about physiological age:

Leslie Wardman, professional Matchmaker of Ambiance Matchmaking says, “On our application, we have three categories to choose from in the ‘How important is appearance to you?’ section, with ‘Very’, ‘Somewhat’, and ‘Not at all’ as the options. We also ask the age range they prefer. Nine out of 10 times, our female clientele will say that neither age nor appearance is the top priority. HEALTH and energy levels are the most important factors.” Don’t let the actual number of your age get in the way of how you look, feel, or think. 

There are more women than men:

Research has shown that women consistently outlive men in every age bracket. Across the industrialized world, women live to be 5 to 10 years older than men. At age 65 and up in the US, there were 13.3% more women than men in 2011. Simply put, men have more options and less competition from other men in this age category. 

You know what you want:

Whether you are divorced, widowed, or never took the plunge, you have years of experience under your belt, either from years of marriage, dating, or simply life experience. Furthermore, at this point in your life, you may be faced with certain life transitions - i.e., retirement or an empty nest - allowing you time to reflect on your needs and wants. These are also major factors in the increasing amount of divorces among the post-50s cohort (coupled with more accepting societal views). This is the perfect time to reassess what you want in a relationship. Women are also in a stage of life where they have a better handle on who they are and what they want in a relationship, making a more stable duo when you pair up.