LOOKING FOR NEW MAN BUT NONE APP-EAL

Dear Coleen

I’ve been married for nine years and have two young children. Last year my husband announced, out of the blue, that he hadn’t been happy for a long time and that he was leaving me for a 26-year-old girl he’d met through work.

I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me and I was a mess for months. But I’ve managed to pick myself up, dust myself down and now I want to get out there and meet another man again.

The trouble is, all the men at my work are married and all my friends of friends are married too.

I joined a couple of dating apps and the only men I’ve met seem to just want sex. They start off seeming really nice but before you know it they’re asking me to text them pictures of me in my underwear, or sending me pictures of themselves half undressed. I just despair of ever meeting anybody kind and lovely. What can I do?

Coleen says

It’s so hard, but you will meet somebody lovely eventually.

I have two very good friends who have met wonderful partners through dating sites. One couple even went on to marry.

There are so many dating websites and dating apps out there, so do your research.

I think the two you’re probably on aren’t quite right so delete them and find some better ones.

Having said that, you’re always going to find chancers on dating sites – as well as men who set up fake profiles and say all the right things just to get sex.

But then again, before dating apps were around you’d find chancers in every pub and bar too. But don’t lose hope.

Also, don’t totally rule out the idea of meeting a man in real life. Start getting into a hobby – join a gym, walking group or cookery class. Make sure you’re “out there”.