How You're Never Too Old To Fall In Love

Summary

The article recounts the personal journey of a man who, after two failed marriages and a decade of singlehood, finds love again with a younger Japanese woman, challenging societal norms and ageist stereotypes.

Abstract

The narrative begins with the author, Liam, detailing his past marital experiences, having been married twice for a total of thirty years. Following his second divorce at 51, he resolves to remain single, focusing on personal growth and business success. Despite a fulfilling life, loneliness creeps in, particularly during holidays. His life takes a turn when he meets a much younger Japanese woman, leading to a relationship that defies age expectations. Despite initial reservations about their age difference, they marry, and Liam discovers a renewed sense of youth and love. The article concludes with an encouraging message for those in similar situations, emphasizing that love is possible at any age with an open mind and the desire to love and be loved.

Opinions

The author believes that one can find love at any age, as evidenced by his own experience of falling in love in his later years.
He expresses that societal expectations about age differences in relationships can be overcome, as shown by his marriage to a woman who could be perceived as too young for him.
The author suggests that cultural differences, such as those between European and Japanese societies, can influence perceptions of age and relationships.
He implies that personal fulfillment and happiness can sometimes require taking risks and stepping outside one's comfort zone, as he did by engaging in a relationship with a significant age difference.
The author's decision to marry again after swearing off love indicates a strong belief in the transformative power of love and companionship.

Hope springs eternal

Nathan McBride on Unsplash

I was fifty one years old when I got divorced from my second wife way back in 2005. By that time I had given marriage a go twice over and had been married for a combined thirty years, twenty with the first and ten with the second. At the end of my second stint as a husband I was all done with love. From that point on I just wanted a peaceful life.

A year after my second divorce I was flirted with and tempted by a work colleague, alas she was just out to play games with my heart strings to bolster her own hurt ego after herself splitting up with some new boyfriend. From then on I became a committed bachelor. I even told my friends to knock some sense into me if I showed the slightest sign of getting hooked all over again. In the end, love never came knocking at my door for a good ten years.

During that decade long hiatus I dedicated myself to just enjoying life as much as time, energy and money would allow. I became fluent in Spanish, I learned to surf and sail and I launched two very successful businesses. But at the end of every day I went home to an empty house.

Quite often I delayed going home until I was flat out exhausted so that I could go straight to sleep as soon as my head hit the sack. Yes, there many lonely times, especially at Christmas, when everybody spent the festive period with their families. Those were the hardest of days to get through, even though in general I was ok.

Then out of the blue I met a lovely young lady who like me was single and available. She had never been married nor had children, so there weren't any complications on her side. And since by that time I had lost all contact with my children as well as my ex brothers and sisters, I too was all clear of any familial complications. However, there was just one thing that bothered me. Her age.

Ok, call me old fashioned if you like, but I still believe you should never ask a female her age. Having said that, this particular lady in question looked to somewhere mid twenties and I really wasn't sure if it was wise to get involved with somebody so much younger than me. If she was thirty she less than half my age. Then she let slip that she had a younger sister. So I asked how old her sister was. What a dummy.

"Why don't you just ask me what you really want to know Liam, how old I am?"

As it turns out that lady who is now my wife looks about fifteen years younger than she actually is. You see, that's the thing with the Japanese, they look so darned young for their age. I don't know if it's the climate, the lifestyle or genetic. Whatever it is, my wife could easily pass for my daughter. And that is something which has drawn comment in social circles. I have even been called a 'Baby Snatcher', not that it bothers me. It certainly doesn't bother my wife. And as a lifelong believer that in general women are a good twenty years more mature and smarter than men, the emotional gap is not as wide as the physical one.

So, at a time when I am supposed to be into a pipe and slippers and called grandpa, I find myself feeling and acting like I am once again in the first flush of youth. What does feel a little strange is that I am closer in age to my mother and father in law. Thankfully they are cool with me being a part of the family. I don't think ageism is quite so prevalent in Japan than it is in European culture.

To those of you readers who are of my generation and find themselves alone, widowed or divorced, who might be wondering is it possible to enjoy the wonders of being in love all over again, I say yes of course it is, all you need is an open mind and the desire to love and be loved to the end of your dying days.

Relationships

How You're Never Too Old To Fall In Love

Hope springs eternal