Yes, it's come to that. I've been doing OLD on and off for years; when I was a bit younger, I used to get a few dates out of it, but since hitting 40, I've come nowhere near the date stage. I can't find any men on these platforms who want to have a normal relationship with a woman near to their own age, it's all "casual fun" and "not looking for anything serious".
I also don't meet suitable men through work or friends. It's not that I'm ridiculously picky, it's that the men my age are pretty much already married and the ones who are available are too young or too old.
I would really prefer not to be single for the rest of my life, so now I'm looking at dating agencies. I have a lot of scepticism because it seems like a hell of a lot of money for not very much in return, i.e. close to £2000 for 8 matches, and I don't live in London so I'm not sure how many people there would be on their books in my area.
The problem is that I never hear independent accounts from people who have used these agencies, so I can't weigh up whether or not it's worth risking the money. Does anyone here have any experience of using them - good or bad - and did you find a long term relationship from it?