Sahar Mourad
Relationships

Why you should never give up hope of finding love later in life

A lot of people think they may be either too young or too old for love.

Love is love and it happens at the right time, right?

Helen Fisher, senior research fellow at the Kinsey Institute in Indiana, as well as a biological anthropologist and self-help author, says that love later on in life should be celebrated. 

She explains that the brain pathways connected to intense romantic love are exactly the same “whether you are two-and-a-half or 92-and-a-half”, but that one of the great advantages of finding love later in life is that more mature people have a better sense of what they want and need – and how best to ask for it.

Using herself as an example, Fisher – who is in her 70s and is organising her first wedding – says there is “beauty” in how she and her partner came to an agreement.

The lovers had an agreed living situation in separate homes in New York City and would agree on spending time together. 

She explained that this agreement had brought them closer together and she would not change it even after saying “I do”.

"The beauty of older people is that they can build the kind of partnerships that they want,” she told AARP.

“It's not this cookie-cutter thing.”

On the other hand, it is expected to be challenging and even difficult bringing someone new into your life. 

Psychoanalyst Polly Young-Eisendrath explains that the difficulty arises because each person already has their own life.

“Be aware that you need to cultivate this relationship freshly,” she says. 

“Show up with each other's tribe; get to know each other's history and children."

Image: Shutterstock

Tags:
relationship, love, older couples, family