The Top Dating Over 50 Dealbreakers

If you’ve been dating over 50 for a while, chances are you’ve got a list of your own dating dealbreakers. Even if you’ve never written them down, you know what they are. A woman named Valerie told me her dating over 50 deal breakers are men who lie about themselves on their online profiles, men who are shorter that she is, and men who lie about their height on their online profiles because they are shorter than she is.

 

A single friend of mine named Cliff was once looking to date only supermodels who weighed no more than 125 pounds. He seems to have relaxed his standards after spending so many nights alone. Now he’s looking for women “who have their own teeth.”

 

Dating Over 50

It turns out that there are almost as many dating over 50 dealbreakers as there are daters who are over 50. (And that’s also true for other age groups.) A website called OurTime.com, which is targeted toward singles over the age of 50, has released a survey of its members. They didn’t ask for my opinion—probably because I am not a member of the website, I call myself the Middle-Aged Babe Magnet, and I am now happily married. Nevertheless, the results of their survey show the top three deal breakers for the dating over 50 crowd.

 

All single people have dating dealbreakers. But do you know what the top deal breakers are for dating over 50?

The dealbreakers are….. (drumroll please!)….

 

Poor Health

Number One: The person is dead. Just kidding. Dead people didn’t even make the Top 10. But the number one dealbreaker is closely related to death—people who are in poor health. 78% of the dating over 50 respondents said they were not willing to go out with someone who was in poor health.

 

I'm thinking this guy does not get many winks on Match.com.

That’s a pretty good call if you ask me. Good health is so fundamentally important to a good relationship that it almost goes without saying. Who would want to start a relationship with someone who isn’t physically well? Plus, there’s the underlying cause of the poor health. If someone isn’t healthy because he or she doesn’t take good care of themselves, that’s a huge red flag. Babe magnets take good care of themselves. So do babes. Do you really want to start a relationship with someone who cares so little about himself that he puts himself at risk? I think not.

 

Poor Financial Health

The Number Two dating over 50 dealbreaker is financial instability. 76 percent of the www.OurTime.com members cited financial issues as a deal breaker. By the time you have reached middle age, you don’t want to get involved with someone who hasn’t gotten her financial act together. The bohemian poor starving artists that have some appeal at age 25 don’t look so good at age 52, when it’s time to get serious about stashing away money for a long and happy retirement.

 

The sign says it all, huh? I wonder if you can get this put on a t-shirt.

One of the reasons I think that poor physical health and financial instability rank #1 and #2 on this survey is that both of these are long-term issues. If you’re unhealthy and your finances are a mess in your over-50 years, it is unlikely things are going to get significantly better anytime soon.

 

Physical Attraction

Coming in at Number Three on the survey is lack of physical attraction (with 75 percent of the survey respondents listing this). This is an obvious dealbreaker for single people of all ages. We’re all looking for someone who can spark our flame of passion. But of all the Top 3 deal breakers in this survey, the lack of physical attraction is the one that offers the most potential for short-term improvement.

 

Oh, baby! Do you love this guy's style, or what? He thinks he's a middle-aged babe magnet, but his only friend is the Domino's delivery guy.

By the time we hit 50, many of us have gotten complacent with our physical appearances. We might be wearing clothes that were fashionable in a previous decade. (I am talking to you, men.) We might be wearing our hair in the same, familiar style that we fell in love with as young adults. We might be pretending that we have more hair than we actually do. (Key word: comb-over.)

 

Update Your Look

One of my most common bits of advice for anyone who is dating over 50 is “update your look.” Find a friend who has good taste in today’s clothes and go shopping. Get yourself some new clothes that fit you well. Take a long, honest look in the mirror. If you’re stuck in a hairstyle rut, go to a salon for a new look. If you haven’t been regularly exercising—start. Begin by walking or biking. Join a gym and start getting your body in shape. You’ll look better and feel better, too.  

 

Today’s over 50 singles are more active and more vibrant than middle-aged folks were in the past. The ones who succeed in dating over 50 are those men and women who keep themselves healthy, take care of their finances, and deliberately don’t get stuck in a rut.

 

There’s one more thing: the best way you can make yourself happier and more physically attractive is to smile more. Try it—starting right now.

 

Chad Stone is the author of The Babe Magnet Rules of Dating Over 50.

 

Five Ways Women Kill Relationships

In a previous post here on Middle-Aged Babe Magnet, I talked about the Five Ways Men Kill Relationships. It’s only fair that I talk about some of the behaviors that women use to chase men away. So this time we cover the five ways that women kill relationships.

Women believe that they’re better at relationships than men are. And they’re probably right. Men can be clueless and self-centered. But women can also fail in the relationship department. Women bring a complexity to the lives of men, and sometimes men just can’t handle it.

Some of the ways that women mess up relationships can be described as personality types. So here are the behaviors of five personality types that women use to kill relationships.

1.       Ms. Bossy Pants

Dating is complicated for the modern woman. Most women have jobs, and many have high-paying careers. These women are used to being not only independent—but in charge. They’ve amped up their masculine energy to succeed in the working world, only to find out that this hard-charging energy makes dating and relationships more difficult. Why? Because the process of dating and developing relationships is VERY old-fashioned. The man demonstrates his masculine energy by being the instigator. He makes the first move, he plans dates, and he basically tries to impress the woman. The woman, on the other hand, needs to relax in her role of being the prize that the man is trying to win.
 



There is nothing like a bossy woman to get a man all warm inside. Right, guys?

When a modern career woman, who I will call Ms. Bossy Pants, enters a new relationship, one of the most difficult things for her is to let the man take the lead. She’s so used to handling things on her own—or even telling people what to do, that she can’t help but make suggestions about how a date should go. He picks a nice restaurant, and she says, “Well, the new Asian Bistro is really quite fabulous. Wouldn’t you really rather go there?” Ms. Bossy Pants has to learn how to wear a dress and let the man be in charge. Otherwise, the only men she will attract are wimpy guys to will put up with all of the bossing.

2.       The Wedding Planner

There are two basic ways of moving too fast in a relationship. For men, it’s trying to get sex too quickly. For women, it’s picking out the wedding invitation design after two dates. Both of these types of moving too fast can kill a relationship.

You casually mention the "M word" during an early date, and this is what he pictures.

 

Healthy relationships usually progress in a natural, comfortable way. A relationship works best when both parties are moving along at the same speed. But if one is way ahead of the other, there’s bound to be some friction. If it’s the woman who is already wedding planning before he’s committed, then he is going to behave like a man and run like hell. I think the majority of cases of men bailing from relationships has to do with women who are planning for a lifetime of bliss when the guy can’t plan past Friday.

3.       Ms. Gold Digger

Yes, ladies, even in the 21^st century there are women who are in it for the money. Remember Anna Nicole Smith (the former Playboy Playmate) who married that 187-year-old billionaire oil tycoon? Do you really think she fell madly in love with him? Me neither. Anna Nicole was the ultimate Ms. Gold Digger.

What do you REALLY want from a relationship?

Most women are not simply after a man’s money. But men are still sensitive to the fact that some women are impressed by fancy cars, jewelry and big houses. So when a woman even hints at being interested in a man for his money, his warning sirens go off. This works both ways, too. When a man starts acting like his girlfriend is going to be his Sugar Momma, she’s going to give him a swift kick out the door.
 

4.       The Man Fixer

There’s an old saying about how men and women approach finding a mate. A man meets a woman and says, “She’s perfect. I hope she never changes.” A woman meets a man and says, “He needs a lot  

She's thinking: "This guy has potential. I can really turn him into someone nice." 

of work, but I can whip him into shape.” A woman who behaves as a Man Fixer loves the challenge of rehabbing a man who has lots of potential. Like a contractor who can turn an ugly, dilapidated house into a neighborhood treasure, The Man Fixer rolls up her sleeves and gets right to work. Lots of men are happy to make small changes for their women. And lots of men are better off for the touch of a smart woman with good taste. But most men don’t want to be rehab projects. When a man feels like he’s a Man Fixer’s project, he’s going to bolt.

 

5.       Miss “Let Me Tell You How Horrible Men Are”

What is it about some women and their man bashing? Why are they still looking for Mr. Right if they’re convinced that every man is a total jerk? Miss “Let Me Tell You How Horrible Men Are” is quite sure that men are inferior creatures, but there she is on Match.com on a Friday night, looking through the profiles of local men. She’s hoping to find the one-in-a-million man who might be good

Men are not looking for a bad time. Do you think this woman would be any fun to be with on a date?

enough for her—and at the same time she’s quite sure that he doesn’t exist. Miss “Let Me Tell You How Horrible Men Are” gets crabbier as she gets older, so she starts to actually repel men. This leads to a self-fulfilling prophesy whereby men start to run away. Then she REALLY believes that all men are horrible—they won’t even talk to her anymore.
 
Ladies, there’s a simple fact about men that you really need to hear: Men aren’t looking for a bad time, and they aren’t looking for relationships with crabby women who are impossible to please. No man ever wrote, “For a bad time call Lisa,” on a bathroom wall.

 

Chad Stone is the author of Confessions of a Middle-Aged Babe Magnet and Babe Magnet Rules of Dating Over 50. Both books are available at Amazon.com.

 

The Final Word on How to Have a Great First Date

During our last two posts, we talked about how to have a great first date. There’s all the first date prep. There’s getting your great first date look together so you make an awesome first impression. There’s choosing the right location for your great first date. And, of course, you need to know what to talk about—and also which topics to NOT talk about.

In many ways, a first date is like a job interview. You are applying for the opening for Girlfriend (or Boyfriend), and your goal is to get to the next interview. How do you do that? Start by asking good questions. Listen to the answers.  Show that you are interested in your date and what he or she says. Reveal some positive things about yourself and your interests in an unforced, conversational way. Smile and enjoy yourself!

"You're hired!" Well, that's sort of what a first date can be like.

 

You might indeed be on a “job interview” of sorts, but a first date is actually much more than that. Sure, you’ve got to make a good impression and reveal the best aspects of your personality. But you also have to get to know the person sitting across from you. Because if a first date really is a job interview, it’s a two-way job interview. You’re both interviewing each other, and it’s only successful if you both shine.

You know how to tell if your date is clicking? The time just FLIES by. The two of you never run out of things to say. That’s how it was for Mueller when he first met Daphne. Mueller had been on quite a few dates. He was almost a professional dater, because he was very picky and he was looking for the love of his life. When he met Daphne for dinner at his favorite Italian restaurant, he was starting to wonder if he had been too picky. But Daphne had a smile that dazzled him, and Mueller had a gentle way about him that touched Daphne’s heart. They both couldn’t stop smiling at each other, and they made each other laugh. The longer they talked, the more they had in common.

 

You've heard of the expression "time flies." No, it's not a literal thing, not matter how good this illustration is. But time whizzing by is one thing that makes a great first date, well, great.

Then, there was the big C-word—Chemistry. It’s difficult to describe chemistry using words, but most of us know it when we feel it. Chemistry is a biological, physical and emotional attraction to another person. Both Mueller and Daphne felt the chemistry that night. Chemistry isn’t logical, so you can sometimes overthink it and talk yourself out of it.

No. Not this kind of chemistry. The Good Kind of chemistry.

 

Fortunately, Mueller and Daphne felt the chemistry that night, and they paid attention to it. Their romance is still going strong, and it looks like it will be going strong for years to come.

And that, my friends, is why you go out on a first date. Because sometimes, if you’re lucky and if you’re paying attention, the chemistry cooks and the stars align and that first date leads to the love of your life.

All you need is love.

 

For more tips on how to meet the love of your life, read Chad Stone’s self-help memoir Confessions of a Middle-Aged Babe Magnet. The book was recently named a finalist for Best Self Help Book by the prestigious New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards.