Finding yourself single in later life can feel terribly lonely. And when it comes to finding love again, there are many potential pitfalls - from families having to adjust to a new person and sharing a home, right through to worries over inheritance and who has access to the money.
While most late-life love stories have happy outcomes, unscrupulous fraudsters are always on the lookout for vulnerable people - especially when there are pension pots and death-inservice payouts to plunder.
A report from Lloyds Bank found that romance scams rose by 22% during 2023 compared to the previous year. Those aged 65 to 74 lose the highest amount of money - £13,123 on average-but men and women aged 55 to 64 are most likely to be targeted by fraudsters. Cases in this age group rose by almost 49% compared to 2022. Here, two women share their stories of love gone wrong.
Carolyn Stephens, a professor at University College London, tells journalist Sue Mitchell how she became estranged from her father Vincent for four years.
In 2012, Carolyn waved goodbye to her widowed father as he headed off to Cyprus on a Saga holiday. Vincent was 78 and comfortably retired after a career as an electrical engineer. On his return he introduced Carolyn, his only child, to Iris, a 75-year-old woman with whom he had struck up a friendship on holiday.
At first she was pleased that her dad, 'who had been so terribly lonely without Mum,' had found a new 'companion', but she was less pleased when Iris, widowed herself, started answering her dad's phone for him and making it difficult for her to see him.
Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av Woman & Home UK.
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Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av Woman & Home UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
A New Normal - The Princess of Wales is looking to the future, putting family first and ditching her to-do list
The Princess of Wales has always felt the pressure. Marrying into the most famous family in the world has been far from easy, but capable Catherine seemed to take it in her stride.Though the glamorous carapace, whether decked in Alexander McQueen or Zara, has hidden a more anxious young woman who didn't want to put a foot wrong. This past year has arguably been the toughest of Catherine's life - dealing with major abdominal surgery followed by a cancer diagnosis and treatment. But it has also given her the time to reprioritise and reassess what really matters.
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