‘I deserve to be SPOILT'

The quest for a wealthy man was Csilla Taylor’s cure for lockdown loneliness

- SASKIA MURPHY, CAROL DRIVER

For many single people, lockdown in March brought dating to a complete stop. Orders to stay at home were unprecedented. Bars, cinemas, clubs and restaurants closed. We weren’t allowed to meet loved ones we didn’t live with, never mind a potential partner for a romantic stroll in the park. For many, it became a time of reflection, to re-evaluate and slow down. But not for me. After spending 15 years as a single mum, I decided it was actually the perfect time to get into the online dating game. Because, at 43, and with my daughters – age 22 and 19 – all grown up, I knew exactly the type of man I was looking for.

When I split up with my girls’ dad in 2005, I wasn’t in a rush to find someone new. My daughters were seven and four and, as I got used to life as a single mum, I was happy for it just to be the three of us.

We lived in Hungary, but my job as a dancer and events coordinator took us all over the world, until in 2014, when the girls were 16 and 13, we settled in London. The girls started a new school and I threw myself into my new job, working long hours in a busy restaurant.

Although I wasn’t looking for love, I wasn’t short of date offers. I had a few relationships, but nothing serious, and although I introduced them to my daughters, I never brought a boyfriend home. To me, any romance was separate from my life as a mother, and I never met anyone special enough to be a stepdad to my girls.

That said, over the years I’d developed a clear idea about what kind of relationship I eventually wanted. From my experience, the most successful men seemed to be the happiest. It was the men with thriving businesses and beautiful homes who were the most fun, interesting, intelligent and relaxed.