What Are Mature Single Men Really Looking For?

Updated on October 10, 2022
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By Marc Silbert

By Hal Spielman & Marc Silbert

The competition for eligible single men gets increasingly intense with the passing of time.  We know that the ratio of single women to single men approaches 4:1 at 65 years of age and it gets more lopsided with every passing year.

Hal and I have listened to many women in this situation who complain that all we guys are interested in are, “young, blonde bimbos with big boobs,” and that we have no real interest in making genuine connections with women of a similar age.

Well, when we decided to write a book about Hal’s life experiences following the passing of his wife, we conducted extensive research into this expanding demographic (Hal was the CEO of an international Market Research firm before he retired and is a member of the Market Research Hall of Fame).  We surveyed and interviewed over 1,000 men and over 600 women, all 55 and over (mostly in the 60-70 year old age range), all of them divorced or widowed.  And what we found out runs contrary to perceptions.

For example, only 19% of men felt that big breasts were sexier than smaller chests. 54% preferred a “petite figured” woman. The overwhelming preference (47%) of hair color was brunette.  And when we did a highly sophisticated eye-tracking study that monitored what features of a woman were gazed at, a woman’s smile was the very first thing guys looked at . . . not her chest!

Over a third (36%) of men preferred their women to, “look their age,” and 37% wanted their lady to, “look my age.”

And with respect to commitment, men were the more desirous of the two sexes to being a “couple” than women (63% vs. 50%).

It is clear from our research that the mature single man is not as clichéd as women may think.  In fact, these men who we call our Suddenly Solos are clearly far more receptive to the companionship of non “Barbie Doll” females than many women may believe!

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