I regret choosing SEX OVER MOTHERHOOD

Blinded by lust, Amanda York put sex before becoming a mum and missed out

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Spotting James* across the room at a crowded singles night, I knew he was just my type. I'd been single for 10 years and at the age of 42, I was ready to finally meet the man of my dreams and settle down. James was tall, dark and handsome. We started chatting, I immediately fancied him and we really hit it off.

Eventually, he got distracted by a stunning blonde in a tiny corset, so he made his excuses and off he went to speak to her. I wasn't too bothered. In fact, I snogged someone else while he was chatting her up, but later in the night I couldn't stop thinking about him. At the end of the night, I made the bold move of approaching him again, asking for his number - and we met up the next weekend.

A promising future

Little did I know it was the start of the biggest mistake of my life; a series of events that would leave me childless at 49.

I'm perimenopausal now and will never have my own kids due to wasting so much time with the wrong man. I feel like the ultimate cautionary tale - what not to do if you want to create a loving family.

Looking back, I can see why I fell for James. We clicked immediately. We shared a sense of humour and both had high libidos. From then on, life was a whirlwind of sex and excitement. It was 2015 and I was working at a hotel gym at the time. Thanks to my staff discount, James and I stayed in a hotel almost every weekend, spending hours making love on luxury bedding and guzzling champagne from the minibar. He was highly sexed but he was romantic as well. He knew all the right things to say. I was swept off my feet.