Entries in Dating at midlife and beyond (5)

Wednesday
Feb182026

SUCCESSFUL SINGLES 50+: HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT PARTNER—NOT JUST FIND ONE

The Confident Partner Choice Blueprint helps successful singles over 50 find a loving, committed partner they’re genuinely excited to be with—without settling, wasting years on the wrong person, repeating harmful patterns, or giving up the life they’ve worked so hard to create.

Simply put: With this Blueprint, you choose the right partner from the very start—not just find one—and you build something lasting. 

In this three-phase program, all clients receive a weekly coaching experience with Dr. Welch, who created the Blueprint based on relationship science and three decades of coaching experience. All clients also get full access to supporting materials created and delivered by her to guide and continue progress between sessions. Additionally, depending on the level of support chosen by the individual, clients either engage 1:1 private strategy sessions and priority text-and-email support, or meaningful interaction within a small-group community of carefully selected singles like them. Most clients complete the Blueprint in approximately 8 to 10 months.

Clarify helps you understand what you truly want and why previous choices may not have worked. Select helps you recognize and pursue the right opportunities while avoiding costly detours. Commit helps you build a healthy, lasting relationship once you’ve found someone promising.

Phase 1: CLARIFY

From confusion, fear, and second-guessing to calm clarity and self-trust.

  •        Define the kind of partner and relationship that truly fits your life now, not 20 years ago.
  •        Identify your real non‑negotiables so you stop wondering if your standards are too high, too low, or simply right for you.
  •        Understand the patterns that have led to unavailable, wrong, or disappointing partners—and learn how to stop repeating them.
  • ·       Learn to choose from confidence and self-trust instead of fear, urgency, or loneliness.

Phase 2: SELECT

From wasting time, energy, and emotion to choosing the right partner early.

  •        Build a dating strategy that fits your personality, lifestyle, goals, and preferred ways of meeting people.
  •        Learn to distinguish genuine interest and commitment from ambiguity, inconsistency, and time-wasting before you become emotionally invested.
  •        Balance attraction with alignment so you stop choosing people who are exciting but wrong for your future.
  •        Set and maintain healthy boundaries so you confidently move toward the right people and away from the wrong ones, without guilt or panic.

Phase 3: COMMIT

From early-dating uncertainty to building a relationship that lasts—happily.

  •        Avoid common early-relationship mistakes that can derail a promising connection before it has a chance to thrive.
  •        Use proven communication practices that deepen trust, closeness, and long-term relationship satisfaction.
  •        Move toward commitment naturally and confidently—without rushing, guessing, or ignoring important realities.
  •       Protect and strengthen the relationship you’ve found so it continues growing.

Happy couples do specific things that protect and grow their connection across the years, and you can learn them too. Commit ensures that you don’t sabotage something good; you don’t commit to the wrong person; and you do keep love going once you’ve found it.

If you’re ready to stop settling, stop wasting time, stop doubting yourself, and start consistently attracting and choosing better partners, the Confident Partner Choice Blueprint is for you.

 

About Dr. Duana Welch

The Confident Partner Choice Blueprint is led and created by Dr. Duana Welch, a 30-year dating coach whose expertise in applying the science of happy relationships resulted in her role as the founding expert for the Paired couples app and the author of the Love Factually books. Dr. Welch served for two decades as a university professor (PhD: Developmental Psychology, University of Florida, 1998), during which she won numerous teaching awards. She has written for Psychology Today and has contributed relationship science and dating advice information to Time MagazineNewsweek, and numerous other media outlets and podcasts.

Ready to explore whether the Blueprint is right for you? 
Schedule a free introductory meeting with Dr. Welch.

Duana@LoveScienceMedia.com
Text: 512.529.7499

Thursday
Dec072023

Why Find Love At Fifty Plus? The Love Scientist Weighs In

Are you age 50+ and wishing for a healthy, wonderful love relationship at last?

 

It’s a fast-growing group of singles, in part because of the increasing rise in grey divorce. In this podcast, host and divorce attorney Lesa Kosky and I discuss why I’ve begun writing Love Factually at Midlife and Beyond, why divorce after age 50 is becoming more prevalent (is the reason rooted in the generation *before* the Boomers?), and how to move past the dating-later stigma and find your person no matter your age! 

 

Listen here!

 

https://podcasts.captivate.fm/media/021796ee-2562-4347-92d4-e433d942a22f/DDD-Duana-Welch.mp3

 

 

***Let coaching with the original Love Scientist bring more love to your life!***

Whether you’re single, partnered, or questioning anything about relationships, get coaching with Dr. Duana Welch:
http://www.lovesciencemedia.com/consult/ 

#duanawelch
#LoveFactually
#LoveFactuallyRevisedandUpdated
#datingcoaching
#datingcoachingforwomen
#datingcoachingformen
#datingadviceforwomen
#datingadviceformen
#datingadvice
#onlinedatingcoach
#relationshipcoaching

 

Monday
Sep182023

Why Get Married?

Overseen: 

 

“Why, at our age [50+], do people get married? And especially those who are financially secure? And even those who are not financially secure. If he’s generous he’ll still be generous married or not. If he’s stingy…well. you realize you’re probably being smarter living with them?”

 

Here’s why:

 

Because most people are so much happier married than single

 

Happily married folks are a whopping 545% likelier to say they’re very happy in their lives, generally, than people who are living any other way (research out of U. Chicago, June 2023). 

 

And decades of studies show that married people in general (even those who aren’t especially happily wed—they’re married but not excited about it) are about a third happier than people who are cohabiting or single! 

 

It’s rare to find lasting stability in adulthood; for most people—men and women alike—marriage provides that friendship and support more than anything else does. 

 

Examples: 

*friends don’t move with you when you retire or get a new job

*cohabiters either marry or quit each other in just a handful of years, if that (yes, I know it’s popular to say cohabiting is basically the same but with easy exit: I will agree when science does), and 

*cohabiters rarely provide life insurance, but married people nearly always protect each other not only for their lives together, but even after death (yes, generous humans are generous in general—but not to nearly the extent they are once married). 

 

The married live longer,

have less illness,

accumulate more wealth,

progress further in their careers (including women in their careers),

their kids do better in nearly every way,

they have someone to do things with,

the sex is better and more abundant (singlehood is *the* biggest predictor of being celibate, which is awesome if sex is no longer something desired, but not nearly as fun if it’s still important)…and

the sex is more emotionally as well as physically satisfying.

As Dr. Linda J. Waite, one of the foremost scientists on how marriage and cohabiting differ, says, “What else is left, except maybe beauty?” 

 

I think there are many reasons people 50+ decide to remain single, though. For instance, some were happily wed and feel that that love was enough. Fair enough! And I’m happy for those who know they’re happy without marriage, and those who cohabit because they get how cohabiting is its own institution—not marriage-lite—and that’s exactly what they want. 

 

But for those who are afraid of ruining their lives by (re)marrying: Finding a great partner is not a crapshoot— there are over 80 years of good science behind how to do it. 

 

I have now spent nearly 30 years helping people find and keep the love of their lives, using science.

 

And when I was single again at age 52, I did it—for me! I’ve never been happier. Our first anniversary is in two weeks! 

 

I knew I would find him, because most women my age either weren’t looking or didn’t know what they were doing…so even though there are more women than men at every decade past midlife, from a dating standpoint, there really weren’t and aren’t. 

 

Love is amazing.

Knowledge is power.

Science for the win!

 

***Want more love in your life? Whether you’re single, partnered, or questioning anything about relationships, get coaching with Dr. Duana Welch, the original Love Scientist!:

 http://www.lovesciencemedia.com/consult/

 

#duanawelch

#LoveFactually

#LoveFactuallyRevisedandUpdated

#datingcoaching

#datingcoachingforwomen

#datingcoachingformen

#datingadviceforwomen

#datingadviceformen

#datingadvice

#onlinedatingcoach

#relationshipcoaching

#datingcoachingage50plus

 

 

 Us on our wedding day in 2022

 

Wednesday
Sep132023

Why More People Are Dating At Age 50-Plus

Did you know? Increasingly, people are dating at age 50+. (In fact, I’ve begun writing Love Factually at Midlife and Beyond for just this reason!) 

 

Why so many single folks post-50? Gray divorce and widowhood. 

 

Over a third of the people who divorce in the USA now are over age 50. It’s the fastest-growing group of divorced folks in our country. 

 

And on average, married women are widowed at age 59—and half of those will outlive their spouse by 15-30 years!!! This being an average, this means some widows are much younger than 59, with more single years ahead. 

 

Most adjust and remain single; many prefer it. And that’s a perfect solution if singlehood is the goal! 

 

But for the rest: *That’s a lot of single years.* No wonder that although my clients range from their 20s to 70s, most are in their 50s and 60s!

 

So: 

 

If you or someone you know is a relationship person; 

 

if you or they know you’re meant to be partnered; 

 

if you or they are wondering about the challenges of repartnering after losses like these, 

 

this podcast episode is for you! 

 

And that’s why I’m thrilled to be the guest on this brand-new episode in Tendrils of Grief, hosted by Susan Ways, who found herself unexpectedly widowed in her early 50s. 

 

Tune into the FULL episode on Spotify: https://spotify.link/ZLIeOJsn0Cb

 
I would love to hear how this episode impacted you. Please let me know your top takeaways. Enjoy!

 

 

Sources of stats: US Census Bureau; Journals of Gerontology; Pew

 

Want more love in your life? Whether you’re single, partnered, or questioning anything about relationships, get coaching with Dr. Duana Welch:

 http://www.lovesciencemedia.com/consult/

 

#duanawelch

#LoveFactually

#LoveFactuallyRevisedandUpdated

#datingcoaching

#datingcoachingforwomen

#datingcoachingformen

#datingadviceforwomen

#datingadviceformen

#datingadvice

#onlinedatingcoach

#relationshipcoaching

Wednesday
Mar152023

From Mating Myths To On App Dating, Your Questions Answered

Wise Readers,

If you’ve been looking for a Best-Of podcast episode from dating-and-mating myths, to avoiding Wrong partners superfast, to online dating dos and dont’s, to attachment style: this is for you! 

Podcast Heartbreak & Hope Host Pat Barbarito and I discuss how science explains and predicts humans’ dating behavior. In this show, you’ll be invited to: 

  • Dispel the popular dating myths that plague modern society but actually set people up for a lifetime of broken hearts;
  • Get comfortable with the discomfort of online dating and find the fun in the journey;
  • Increase the odds of correctly identifying your significant other among all the unsuitable matches;
  • Embrace the two must-haves that guarantee a successful relationship;
  • Learn how the most captivating online profiles are created and which photos make them even more memorable;
  • Understand how and when to take an online interaction into the real world;
  • Examine the four attachment styles that rule all human connection – familial, platonic, romantic; and so much more.
Listen to the episode here.

Miss an episode from this trilogy? Find the full length conversations by visiting the links below! 

 

I’d love to be your science-based guide to a lifetime of happiness. Right now you can get (or give) a 15-minute mini-session with me—at no charge. Free. Gratis. 
Let’s make love happen for you in 2023: reach out to me at Duana@lovesciencemedia.com.
*******************************
Want more love in your life? Whether you’re single, partnered, or questioning anything about relationships, get coaching with Dr. Duana Welch:
http://www.lovesciencemedia.com/consult/
#duanawelch
#LoveFactually
#LoveFactuallyRevisedandUpdated
#datingcoaching
#datingcoachingforwomen
#datingcoachingformen
#datingadviceforwomen
#datingadviceformen
#datingadvice
#onlinedatingcoach
#relationshipcoachingforwomen