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VOL.37, NO.9
SEPTEMBER 2025
Six-minute dates for older singles
For many older adults, a return to the dating world often comes after another relationship ends. Gianturco divorced three years ago after 33 years of marriage. His three adult daughters are rooting for him to find a partner for the next chapter of his life, he said. “I plan on finding a partner and hopefully having a lifelong relationship,” Gianturco said, but it has so far been difficult to meet people.
LEISURE & TRAVEL
Explore Cambodia’s heritage sites and Vietnam’s French architecture via a river cruise; plus, a writer returns to Paris after 60 years page 26 PHOTO BY DANIEL RADER
Hope after divorce
PHOTO COURTESY OF PRE-DATING SPEED DATING
By Laura Sturza If you keep telling yourself, “I’ve got to put myself out there if I’m going to meet someone,” speed dating may be for you. This unique dating format offers the chance to meet multiple singles in your age range in a single evening. Each event is held at a different bar, hotel or restaurant, typically in a private area. A host welcomes everyone and gives them a nametag — and some encouragement. Often the women stay seated at tables, while the men rotate from one table to the next, allowing people to meet as many as 16 prospects in six-minute mini-dates. When six minutes are up, the host rings a bell, and half the guests change seats to meet someone new. People who have tried speed dating tend to enjoy it, even if they don’t meet the love of their life. “It was kind of fun — it was definitely exciting. It gave me that school-dance-butterflies feeling,” said Linda R. (last name withheld for privacy), a 56-year-old D.C. resident whose husband passed away in 2007. At the end of each mini-date, participants indicate whether they would like to share their contact information with the person they have just met. If it’s mutual, the organizers then connect them: Within 24 hours, participants receive an email with the contact information of the people they liked. They can take it from there. “One of the nice things about speed dating is, people are polite, respectful, nice to each other, so even if there isn’t a match, it’s a chance to just meet new people — as opposed to online, where people ghost you,” said 61-year-old Mark Gianturco, who has been to two events in Northern Virginia.
I N S I D E …
At a speed dating event held by Pre-Dating Speed Dating, couples spend a few minutes getting to know each other and then move on. Many singles over 50 say they enjoy the experience even if they don’t make a love connection.
“It’s not the paradigm anymore that you go shopping and meet the love of [your] life. I’m sure it happens, but the social dynamics are different…I hope I find my person.” While he hasn’t yet found the woman of his dreams, Gianturco still considers his speed dating experiences a success. After all, he put himself out there, along with everyone else who attended. Doing so, he believes, has brought him one step closer to meeting his match.
Authentic interactions
While many might find the idea of speed dating daunting, others are ready to try it, especially those who have been disappointed in their attempts to meet someone through friends, shared interest groups, or dating apps such as SilverSingles and SeniorMatch.
Gianturco prefers speed dating to dating apps because he says meeting someone in person provides nuance that is lacking in online dating. During short, face-toface encounters, he said, “You’ve exchanged much more information than you would with endless days of texting, and the information you exchange is richer.” There is another advantage to this inperson dating approach: authenticity. Gianturco has encountered a few women who misrepresented themselves online, including those who used photos that were not their own. Of course, that can’t happen in person.
Good way to make friends
Like Gianturco, Linda R. tried dating See SPEED DATING, page 32
ARTS & STYLE
Shakespeare meets Duke Ellington at Signature Theatre; plus, a local artist’s plant-based “echo prints,” and Bob Levey on why older patients are best page 29 FITNESS & HEALTH 6 k Smartest snack foods k Never too old for weight lifting LAW & MONEY k Social Security myths k Pitfalls of Medicare Part C
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