DON'T TELL ME I CAN'T… ...online date in my 50s

Finding herself single at 53, Michele Riley embraced a modern way of dating

- FIONA KINLOCH

Flicking through the stream of singletons on my phone, I can’t help but giggle. I haven’t been lucky in love when it comes to dating online. I’ve been cast aside by potential suitors, done some rejecting myself and met some men so strange, our relationship hasn’t lasted long enough for us to rebuff one another! But it’s been a real experience, and I’m glad that, as a woman in her 50s, I’m giving it a good go.

I met my first husband in 1990, when I was 26. Dating then was a world away from what it is today. He was a neighbour, and I’d clean the windows outside just soI’d catch his eye. Not long after we began chatting, we were heading out for drinks together, and that feeling of not knowing if he fancied me or not was terribly exciting.

As we entered a romantic relationship, I knew he was the love of my life. In 1992 we married, before welcoming Stefan in 1993, then India in 1994 and twins Sam and Mia in 1997. We enjoyed many happy years but, by 2011, cracks were showing and we eventually split.