Dating Over 50: What Really Matters (It's Not What You Think) & Valentine's Day

We celebrate our podcast's 1st anniversary on Valentine's Day by diving into dating after 50, relationship maintenance and why this made-up holiday matters more than we thought.Forget just celebrating Valentine's Day, we're celebrating a full year of podcasting! In this milestone episode, we reflect on our journey from starting with different co-hosts to building an audience (slower than expected!), going viral with 200K views and even getting nominated for a Pro-Ageing Podcast Award.But the heart of this episode is about love after 50. We explore the three types of people on Valentine's Day (singles, established couples, and newly dating), confess how we nearly let Valentine's Day slide after 8 years together and share what people actually prioritise when dating post-50: intelligence, humour, honesty and kindness.We get brutally honest about the challenges of dating later in life, the baggage everyone brings, financial compatibility conversations, health considerations and the reality that 35-40 years of habits won't change. From joint bank accounts (we don't have one) to understanding your partner's "money language," we cover the conversations you need to have before fully committing. KEY TAKEAWAYSPodcasting reality check: We overestimated Year 1 success and learned listeners dip in and out rather than following. Valentine's serves as a reminder to invest effort in your relationship, not just celebrate on one specific date.Post-50 dating priorities shift: Intelligence, humour, honesty and kindness matter most (men add facial attractiveness; women add dependability).Everyone over 50 has baggage; we think it's actually a red flag if they don't.The comfort zone trap is real: Cohabitation can lead to taking each other for granted if you're not carefulMoney means different things: Safety, control, freedom, or love, understanding your partner's "money language" is crucialWe took 4.5 years before moving in together, there's no rush when you're building something real TIMESTAMPS00:27 - Introduction & First Anniversary01:54 - Year One Highlights and Surprises: Viral Posts & Award Nominations02:49 – Lessons Learnt from Our First Year04:10 - The Three Categories of Dating for People over 50 on Valentine's Day05:41 – The Evolution of Our Valentine’s Day06:18 - The Comfort Zone Trap: How We Nearly Let Valentine's Slide 10:15 - What People Over 50 Actually Look For in Partners 11:29 - The Baggage Factor: Everyone Has a History 14:07 - Blended Families & Why We Had It Easier14:55 – Our Primary Motivation When We Started Dating Each Other in Our Mid 50s16:21 - Health & Wealth: The Delicate Conversations – Do you want to be a nursemaid?17:19 - It Is Important to do Things Together19:00 - Financial Compatibility: Joint Accounts vs. Independence 21:21 - Emotional Transparency, Past Relationship Trauma & Understanding Your Own “Money Language”23:34 - Our Relationship Journey  & Philosophies to Dating 25:53 - Our Opinion on Dating post 50 RESOURCES MENTIONED• Anthony Robbins quote on Year 1 vs. Year 5 expectations  • Sunday papers article on dating characteristics post-50  • Research on financial compatibility in couples  • Love languages and attachment styles theory  • Previous viral episode: Should Adult Children Spend Christmas With Us? CONNECT WITH USAvailable on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube Instagram: @whenthefuckdididbecomeold