Hello – I’m Rebecca K., a 50+ SunsetSoulmates, Creator, Builder…
SunsetSoulmates is my online ode to senior romance and lifestyle. I am a creative lady based in South Florida but I also live internationally and manage this site from wherever I may be.
SunsetSoulmates.com is my little contribution to ending senior loneliness. I want to increase the romance and friendship options of sexy, savvy seniors: those who put a high priority on finding love and flourishing in romantic relationships.
I’d like to think that this site can also enhance the lives of those who are enjoying their single status, and who may no longer be looking for marriage or cohabitation. These are mature adults filling their days and nights with flirting and mingling, socializing, living well, possibly traveling and taking proactive action on anything “anti-aging” and wellbeing. These are my own personal interests, and I figured that many other Over 50’s probably feel the same way.
You see, back in the early 1970’s I was born to “mature” parents in their mid-40’s. While growing up and into my mid-life, all my parents’ friends and relatives were, for the most part, well into their senior years.
I have a great respect for the older generations (and I feel I understand them so much better than the younger generations, who get grouped by names like Gen X, Gen Z, Millenials, etc.) I have trouble keeping up with all the labels and I don’t even know which one I really fall into.
Mentally, I’m probably more of a Boomer (or I’m lying to myself and others about my age! :).
My parents and the vast majority of all their “mature” friends and family have now departed this life. But they left behind indelible ideas and philosophies that stayed with me. I’m better for having known them and observed both their struggles and their triumphs as they aged.
One such “struggle” I observed was that my mother passed away before my dad, which was completely unexpected. He was always supposed to “graduate” before her. But you know what? That country gentleman, aged 88, got himself into his best tweed jacket and got “out there” to socialize (at the local casino, where we hoped he was not gambling away the family inheritance!)…
Shortly thereafter he met Aleene, also 88, a retired Hollywood movie costumer and a much better poker player than him. Well, the two “shacked up” immediately and had a four-year fiery (and frankly contentious) romance going between watching vintage episodes of that insufferable “Hee Haw” music show together. They passed away within three weeks of one another!
It’s stories like this that I find inspiring. It’s also stories like that of sweet Margaret, my mother’s best friend (and one of mine too), who lived in very good health til 98. Margaret never claimed a boyfriend for herself since she became a widow at age 56. But she didn’t want a man complicating her life!
“Some things are much worse than being lonely…” she’d muse rather ominously, and without alluding to exactly what she meant. Margaret filled her later years with volunteer work, friends, lunches out, church activities, and a once-a-year cruise trip around the Hawaiian islands.
But I think she had a major crush on the ship’s handsome Nordic captain. I’m pretty sure his presence is what kept her going back year after year. It can’t have been for the fresh pineapples!
Then there was my dear, beloved Aunt Fran, a beautiful platinum-haired woman (widowed in her mid 80’s). She was a talented artist and craftsperson who had a daily yoga routine and stylish clothing that kept her looking glamorous into her 90’s.
Aunt Fran was always up for a “dress up” outing…to the theater, fine dining and even with me on a fabulous garden tour of the South of France! The great love of her life (my uncle) was a VERY hard act to follow. But I’d say she was actively looking for a new playmate (as she stealthily scanned every public room with huntress-like precision).
Often she claimed she “might” be up for a casual fling “if” the right occasion came along and “if” the gent in question had nice manners and would regularly take her out for a fancy “wine dinner” (she loved that term). All this of course before any “whoopy” could take place. But I think few of the provincial gents she came across in her town could handle this much energy and style!
In her last years, Fran carried on a wonderful platonic friendship with Grafton, a same-aged guy (and the ultimate handyman) who showed up every (and I mean every single!) morning for her delicious coffee and home-made breakfasts.
He eagerly fixed things (even stuff that didn’t need fixing) and kept her car fueled and shined—that is, until his wife uprooted him and hauled him off to the other side of the country where he ultimately lost his will to live.
We surmised that Grafton declined so rapidly because he’d been happily handy-manning for a lot of senior ladies in the neighborhood. These solo ladies desperately needed his help and kept him busy all day long. He’d felt needed and appreciated!
Fran and I were both flummoxed by Grafton’s departure out West—sad, sad. I had really liked that she had her daily dose of Grafton in her life! I do think that if she were still with us, Aunt Fran would take a great liking to senior online dating and the opportunities for meeting new, attractive (and appropriate) wine dinner partners.
I’ve watched in fascination as so many of the seniors in my life have reinvented themselves and restyled their lives after losses and challenges. They effectively avoided loneliness setting in for too long. They seized their days and found the romance in their experiences.
I also saw several recover from mental and physical health setbacks, to go on and lead richly-coupled or fabulously-single lives in their silver and golden years.
I began conceiving of SunsetSoulmates in earnest on a stay in the Wiltshire, UK countryside in 2022. I was staying near a darling village in the Cotswolds, called Castle Combe (a very picturesque and romantic village!). Within a few short days, I met two different couples in their mid-70’s, who were very friendly and struck up conversations with me in these two wonderful places: during tea time at The Manor House and Sunday lunch at The Castle Inn pub.
These couples had just met and were on one of their first few dates (not sure if they’d met online or off; I was too polite to ask but dying to know!). They were giddy with the blush of companionship and flirtation…and I thought, “The Universe is trying to tell me something here.” Hmmmmm….
And this is my wish for all of the Sunset Soulmates who visit this website: to experience the romance of life in all its myriad forms. ❤︎Vive romance!