FINDING LOVE

Is It Possible to Find Love after 50?

Sofia Diaz
5 min readApr 11, 2024

They say that a mid-life crisis hits you hard when you least expect it.

One day you’re preparing yourself a cup of joe, then you’re suddenly hit by a wave of nostalgia when you remember something from your high school days.

It’s difficult to live through these memories because you can’t help but compare how you lived your life back then versus now.

Laurence, aged 57, was one of those people who once had difficulty dealing with his mid-life crisis. Back then, he had no one to run to. He only had his pet cat, Timothy, to accompany him during his late-night movie marathons.

He’s had a few relationships, but it never worked out in the end because they wanted different things in life.

Photo by Oziel Gómez on Unsplash

His first girlfriend wanted to get married early, but he wasn’t ready for that level of commitment. His next girlfriend was too busy with her work to maintain a relationship. His last one wanted to go on a road trip all across the states. But because Laurence was a homebody, he couldn’t bring himself to come along.

Laurence thought that if he was patient enough, someone right would come along. So, he put all of his focus on his career as a financial manager. He made enough figures to set his retirement plan for life and invested in a few businesses here and there.

Still, he couldn’t get rid of his feelings of loneliness.

A co-worker recommended that he try out a dating site. The same guy shared that he met his girlfriend through a dating site, met up, and they’ve been steady since then. Laurence was not fully convinced, but he decided to take up his co-worker’s recommendation.

Suffice to say, Laurence was overwhelmed at first.

It was confusing to navigate through the site first. There were so many dropdowns and buttons, Laurence wasn’t sure if he might’ve activated a bug of some sort.

Fortunately, he had his niece to help him out with the process of signing up. After having a mini-photoshoot (his niece was NOT happy with the picture he initially chose), he saved his profile and hoped for the best.

Because this was Laurence’s first time signing up for a dating site, he had to consult the internet (and his very supportive niece) about the current dating practices and the like. He was venturing into unknown territory and he didn’t want to crash and burn.

What’s more, it’s been a while since he’s been in the dating scene and he has no idea what a modern woman likes in a man.

After some time on a few dating sites, this is what he discovered:

  • Not everyone who uses a dating site intends to get married as an end goal.
  • People all over the world sign up for these sites.
  • The dating site you choose matters.

Laurance did manage to get a few good matches, but the connection wasn’t really there. He decided to sign up for another dating site because he noticed some of them attracted people who weren’t really interested in marriage.

The small decision to switch sites changed Laurence’s life for the better. It was there he met Karen, a 24-year-old woman from Cartagena.

Karen was not entirely open to the idea of seeing Laurence at first, since she feared the age gap might pose a hindrance in their relationship. But she gave it a shot anyway, as she genuinely believed that Laurence was a good person.

And Karen’s instincts were right.

Much like her, Laurence was a man who was looking for someone to love. Life was cruel to them both, and they wanted to give themselves another shot at romance.

Dealing with a long-distance relationship was not easy at first.

They only had a timezone difference of one hour, but even so, it was difficult to fit in each other’s schedules.

Karen was born and raised in Barranquilla but moved to Cartagena because of work. Laurence was busy as a financial manager, at times calling in at odd hours.

Nevertheless, they both tried. Both Karen and Laurence wanted to make it work, and so they found a way around their hectic schedules. They talked at 6pm during weekends and sent each other messages from time to time.

They both understood that neither of them could always respond on time, but they would if they were available. It was a very convenient and comfortable setup for them both.

Laurence then went over to visit Karen in Cartagena. During his stay, he wrote love songs, learned Spanish, and often went on romantic strolls with Karen on the beach.

Laurence even got to know Karen’s sister Ingrid. She signed up for the same site that they did and is currently engaged to a great guy from Minnesota.

Photo by Erik Odiin on Unsplash

After Laurence’s trip, they both made future plans to visit each other often. Christmas and New Year’s over Karen’s place, Valentine’s over at Laurence’s place in Utah, Summer Vacation once again at Karen’s, and so on.

Time flew quite quickly for these lovebirds, and before they knew it, it was already their third anniversary. Little did Karen know that Laurence was planning on proposing.

Karen’s family and friends were already in on the surprise since Laurence asked for their blessing beforehand. He popped the question in their favorite spot at the beach and got married on December 18.

Soon enough, Karen got her green card. The happy couple is now residing in Salt Lake City.

Had Laurence not taken his co-worker’s advice or his niece’s guidance, he never would have found himself as happy as he is right now. But he was glad he took the risk. Against all odds, it was still indeed possible to find love after 50.

A few words from the happy couple

“Like a lot of American gentlemen my age, I had trouble finding romance here in the states. I tried just about every matchmaking service there is, but nothing worked. Women under 50 wouldn’t give me a second look. Then I heard about this site and my world changed forever. At age 57, I discovered the fountain of youth in Colombia, a beautiful 24 year old virgin with a heart of gold. I learned Spanish, wrote love songs for her and we spent many wonderful nights together on the beaches of Cartagena.

I am forever indebted to you. I found my true love through this site, a beautiful woman who loves me more than I ever thought possible, a treasure forever.

Thanks for your consideration

Laurence & Karen”

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