Dating After 55

With the rate of divorce and separation rising combined with widowed and aging boomers who never married, there are more single seniors than ever before. What’s the dating scene like for them?
Shelley Morthland has been single since 1990, and shares her thoughts on dating after 55.

 

Shelley Morthland, 57,  from Wedgwood, and Gene Neberfur, 61, from Ballard.

Shelley:  My girlfriend on Valentines Day, neither of us had dates, so we went to go to dinner by ourselves and he’s a contractor and he was going to do her doors and he called and so she invited him and that’s how we started going out.  He bought her dinner.  He bought us candy . That’s very cool.   And so that’s how it was.

Gene: Isn’t that what you do when you go out with a girl and you meet somebody for the first time on Valentines Day you bring ‘em each candy.

Shelley:  Its pretty cool.  Very fun.  We came down here tonight because you wanted to show me something different and he was gonna take somebody else last night and I didn’t like that (laugh)  You were just kidding.  So last night I didn’t sleep very well and I had him meet me this morning before I went to work and then he said we’ll do something tonight.  So here we are. (laugh)  It’s very funny.

Gene: Its going to be a nice day.  It’s a great bubble day.

Shelley:  Well the sun set now and its starting to get a little chilly but he’s not.. (laugh) .  he’s like this.  It’s the thing that attracted me the most the very talented, the sense of humor, you never know what he’s going to come out of that mouth (laugh)  Its great.  He’s a wonderful man.

Gene: And my feet don’t smell

Shelley:(laugh out loud)   It’s different.  You don’t usually find somebody you can trust and, I think you appreciate those qualities that you might not when you’re younger.  Also, your spiritual side even just how you think about life in general too.  He opens the door for me, just little sweet things that I think when you’re younger not there or you’re not thinking about it.

I’ve been single about 15 years.  And he’s the nicest guy I’ve ever gone out with,  Its easy to want to be with somebody who really want to be with you.