‘I'm finally enjoying my sex life after 20 years married to a tyrant'
Meanwhile, I found the confidence to explore the burgeoning post-50s dating scene. I did have one rule. I didn't bring anyone home when the boys were there. I finally found my voice, both inside and outside the bedroom, no longer oppressed and stifled by the need to be the docile wife.
There has been one significant other, in the early days post-divorce, but it ended badly when he didn't want me to work with a male colleague. I was not going to come straight out of a controlling marriage into another one where a man felt like he could tell me what to do.
The next few months were fuelled by a 'f--k it' attitude and a desire for fun, but pretty soon I became fatigued by the fiftysomething dating app failures, like Big D. Eventually, on Hinge, I was matched with the much younger and tall, dark and uncomplicated city boy Theo.
With older men, there's often no communication and no discussion. A 55-year-old man would walk in naked, and I'd be like, 'OK, we're going straight to this are we?'' It's very instant, with no foreplay. With Theo, it was more: 'Let's take it slowly'.
We saw each other for a few months, and then he decided he wanted a deeper emotional attachment and is now in a relationship with a girl his own age, and that's absolutely fine.
Now I've bumped into an old friend, yes he's older, yes he has got more emotional baggage than all the others put together – but, he's kind, communicative, honest and almost matches up to Theo in terms of stamina. Like the youngsters do, he's asked me to be his girlfriend, and I've agreed. It's another new chapter, and I'm ready to start it.
*All names have been changed
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