By decade
Dating women over 60
A large and growing group, under-served by almost everything written about dating, and searched for using some fairly unpleasant vocabulary.
Let us deal with the vocabulary first, because it is what a lot of people type and it is worth being straight about.
A note on the terms
Search for this and you will find a great deal of content using words like “granny”. The term is widely used online, it is what a fair number of people search for, and it is disliked by the overwhelming majority of the women it describes.
We are not going to pretend the search term does not exist. We are also not going to describe women in their sixties that way, because a good number of them read this site and it would be both rude and inaccurate. A sixty-two-year-old is not a granny in the sense that word implies, whether or not she has grandchildren.
Who is actually in this group
Women over sixty are the fastest-growing group in online dating, and the reasons are demographic rather than cultural. Longer lives, later divorces, and a generation that is more comfortable online than the one before it.
They are also, on the whole, unusually clear about what they want — a consequence of having had time to work it out and having stopped caring what anyone thinks about it.
The numbers work against men here
Worth saying plainly. Women outnumber men substantially in this age group and the gap widens with each decade, for straightforward reasons of life expectancy.
The practical consequence is that men over sixty who are presentable, sane and reasonable company are in demand, and men who are none of those things still are not. It also means that women in this group receive a great deal of attention, much of it poor quality, and their standards reflect that.
Where to meet
- Online. Now the largest single route in this age group, with the fastest growth of any segment.
- Volunteering. Skews strongly toward this demographic and meets regularly.
- U3A, adult education, classes. Designed for exactly this group.
- Walking groups and rambling clubs. Very well attended.
- Choirs and community music. Overwhelmingly this age range.
- Church and community organisations, if already part of your life.
What women in this group say puts them off
- Being approached because of their age. The most common complaint, and it includes compliments framed around it.
- Men looking for a nurse or a purse. Their phrase, not ours, and it comes up constantly.
- Photographs from fifteen years ago. Noticed instantly and taken as evidence of dishonesty rather than vanity.
- Immediate intensity. Talk of a future within days, which is also the pattern of a romance scam.
- Assuming they want to be looked after. Many have been doing the looking after for forty years and are enjoying not doing it.
If you are the woman reading this
Two practical things. Set your radius tight, because logistics matter more at this stage than at any other. And be alert to romance scams — this group is targeted disproportionately, for reasons of predictability rather than naivety. The patterns are in our guide to how they work.
Living apart together — keeping separate homes indefinitely — is common and increasingly normal at this stage. Worth knowing as an option rather than a compromise. More in dating in your sixties.
Common questions
Where can I meet women over 60?
Online is now the largest route in this age group and the fastest growing. Offline, volunteering, adult education, walking groups and choirs all skew strongly toward this demographic.
Why is the term granny dating used?
It is widely used online and it is what a fair number of people search for. It is also disliked by the overwhelming majority of the women it describes, which is why we do not use it to describe anyone.
Are there more single women than men over 60?
Yes, substantially, and the gap widens each decade for reasons of life expectancy. It means men in this group who are decent company are in demand, and that women receive a great deal of attention of variable quality.
Related guides
Last updated: July 2026