W hen a divorced woman on “the wrong side of 45 with a brace of kids” began to write about her experiences of being single last week, she opened her blog with the extraordinary statement that she was in “relationship no man’s land”, condemned to be alone for the rest of her life. The anonymous woman, whose blog is called The Plankton, is not alone in believing that there are problems specific to being a single woman in middle age.

A survey this month found eight out of 10 women over 50 think they have become invisible to men. Seven out of 10 women in the study felt overlooked by the fashion industry, while three-quarters of women in their 60s believed they had lost their identity by being labelled as a “mum”. Women and men are living longer and fitter lives; the average age at which we divorce is rising — 41 now for women and 43 for men — and the number of single parents is projected to rise to 1.

As a dating coach for women over 40, I know finding love the second time fact is that now, more than any other time in history, there are a lot of people in their 40s, Plus, I met men through personal ads (online dating was not popular yet in​.

Digital dating is a lot like driving a car. Coles insists that “Love Rules” is not just for the single millennial looking for love, but also for men and women getting back out there and re-entering the dating scene after many years. In fact, more middle-aged adults are dating digitally than ever before: A Pew Study examining online daters in and then again in showed the use of digital dating services jumped by almost two-thirds for adults aged While the concepts of Tinder and Bumble may sound like a foreign language to some, anybody can — and should — use these dating apps, says Coles.

Online dating is a bit like Costco, there’s an enormous range of options. You have to look for the fresh produce aisle. Dating apps are fantastic in that they provide incredible options.