This is me. I had friends at school, not so many at Uni and none that I keep up with from work. However, I do keep up with my old boss from my last job. We worked together for 22 years in 3 different jobs and I am in fairly regular email contact with her. She and I met up alone for the first time a couple of months ago, whereas we usually have partners in tow.
I don’t drink a great deal, so an evening at the pub would consist of making one or possibly two drinks last a long time. I’m not interested in ball games so football and cricket would not be common points of interest with other men. My best friend is my wife and she is all the company I want or need for most of the things I do in retirement. We have other couples as friends and that seems to work best for me, but I do occasionally think about how I would socialise if I were left on my own.
My wife has friends from work whom she keeps up with. She belongs to a book club and a Prosecco drinking circle with various groups of these former colleagues. She is also a governor of the school at which she used to work and she takes the role very seriously so she still spends a day or so each week at the school, quite apart from the governors’ meetings she attends.
We are learning ballroom dancing together - something I have always wanted to do - and we attend Pilates classes together, again something I have wanted to do for a long time to improve my posture. When she is out with her friends I quite enjoy my time alone and I find I apply myself better to household chores, whereas when she is here we’ll sit and chat or sometimes just sit together and not chat.
Because I often think I should try and make male friends I went along to the opening of a new Mens Shed where I live. Like all new ventures, it was absolutely mobbed, so I thought I’d let the initial enthusiasm die down before I think about attending sessions. But if I do start attending, it won’t be because I need male company, it will be because I feel I ought to.
I have so far forgotten to mention that we have four grown up sons, all of whom I get along with just fine. However, 3 live abroad which gives us wonderful regular opportunities for foreign travel, but it means I don’t have very close relationships with them. Again, we tend to meet up with them and their wives as couples which works very well.
So, like previous posters, I wouldn’t see a loner as a danger sign. What it does mean is that he will probably be very focused on you, something which may or may not suit you. My wife loves all the attention!