He's a man in his early 50s, long divorced with grown up children. A nice man, in good shape, decent job but currently living in a rented room in a shared house - it suits him for now. Plenty of disposable income and generous with it.
8 of us were having dinner and he asked the table for advice with a current relationship situation.
8 years ago he was in a four year romantic relationship with a woman he hoped to marry. She is also divorced with one adult child and an elderly mother (relevant). They split because he was too serious and she didn't want to commit (his words).
Since then they have remained friends, he cooks, cleans, does DIY and maintains her garden. He says he does it because he enjoys it and it suits him as he doesn't have a house of his own to care for. They eat out often, do theatre trips, even go on holiday and he pays. They are strictly "friends", there has been no sex since they split, although he would still like there to be. He says he's in love.
She says she can't have a proper relationship because she's receiving spousal maintenance and stressed with caring for her mother, but that she still cares very deeply for him. She says the menopause has ruined her libido anyway so if they did marry the relationship wouldn't be much different. He's almost certain there's no-one else, they see each other about 4 times a week.
Anyway he was asking whether there's a future, if he keeps caring for her and waits for the mother situation to come to a natural end or if he should stop contact to give himself a chance to move on. I had the opposite view to everyone else at the table. What would you say to him?