A 69-year-old Southampton woman has thoughts on what it’s like to date as an older American, and the common misconceptions she faces.  

While the world and Philly locals fell in love with Gerry Turner, the star who brought ‘Delco Sass’ to this season’s Golden Bachelor, mainstream discussions surrounding dating are starting to consider the experiences of older Americans, writes Alfred Lubano for The Philadelphia Inquirer.  

“I know that when younger people see us, they think we cut off all desire,” said Southampton’s Marcie Lyons-DiCamillo to The Philadelphia Inquirer. “We don’t,” she said.  

However, Lyons-DiCamillo, who’s been dating around after her husband passed away five years ago, finds that relationships aren’t the top priority of men her age.  

“They aren’t available because they need to watch Eagles games,” said Lyons-DiCamillo. “Or, you do manage to go out with someone and try to connect, but then they ghost you. “It gets lonely.” 

According to The Inquirer, Philadelphia has the widest gender gap of all the major U.S. cities, with 90,000 more men than women, and an even smaller pool for women ages 65 to 84 looking to date single men in the same age range.  

While Lyons-DiCamillo appears to find the dating scene underwhelming, she gets excitement out of aerobics and travel instead.  

Read more about the Southampton woman’s perspective on the dating life of older Americans in The Philadelphia Inquirer.  

More about Delco’s Susan Noles.