As an older divorced white guy navigating the murky waters of dating, I found myself grappling with challenges that seemed impossible. Divorce had left me broken, and the prospect of reentering the dating scene felt like stepping into a battlefield strewn with emotional landmines. Yet, despite all the challenges, I found a beautiful and strong black lady on an interracial dating website that transformed my perspectives and ultimately, my life. If you are in the same boat as I am, I want to tell you that life is just beginning, and often it’s how we approach life that matters. Here are lessons I learned that I hope will help you too.
Embrace Change: Divorce shattered my world, leaving behind broken dreams and regrets. Despite the pain, I realized that life is a journey marked by twists and turns, and embracing change was the first step toward healing. My heart, although weary, was still beating. Life had not ended; in fact, it had begun!
Dealing with Baggage: Carrying the weight of past relationships was far too heavy and has indirectly sabotaged a number of potential dates for me. Dating is a gentle dance of courtship, and hesitation can be smelt a mile away, especially where the intent is everything. The stigma attached to divorcees and single parents already looms large, with most singles dismissing us as damaged goods burdened with emotional baggage. Showing everyone that I was ready to have them as a partner and not just as a distraction in my life was key. Forgive your past, forgive yourself, and move on. Nothing good comes out of holding grudges.
Choosing The Right Pool: Dating online is mainly consumed by looks and materialism. I learned this from being on every dating platform I could afford. 99% of potential matches on regular dating platforms avoided me like the plague, unable to comprehend the complexities of life as a single dad. Don’t waste your time on mainstream apps like Tinder and the like. The culture on these apps is just not catered to people like us. Rather, I found all my best dates on “indie” sites such as MixerUSA were all about inclusivity and authenticity. Searching in the right place is everything.
Understand Priorities: As a single dad, my child rightfully took center stage in my life, and finding the balance between prioritizing parenthood and dating was way more difficult than I thought it’d be. I realized only after 3 failed long-term dates with good women that seeing prioritization as absolute and drawing the proverbial line when it came to my kid was just not the right approach. Rather, treating a new love interest with the romance and concern one would usually give to a potential partner before children entered the picture would build the foundation of love and trust, which kids greatly benefit from. For me, it was finding someone to be a “unit” with, and I needed to cultivate that relationship.
Be Open-Minded: Engaging with individuals from diverse backgrounds not only opened up a wider dating pool, but it also made me question my “standards” in what I wanted in a relationship. After a failed marriage, many things I wanted in a romantic partner started to look trivial, and I decided to drop the laser-sharp focus on what I thought I wanted and needed. Embracing “different” became a cornerstone of my dating journey, and although my goal was to find a companion, I found myself meeting people from diverse backgrounds, every bit of which was interesting, lovely, and made dating so much more enjoyable.
Dating as a single parent is definitely a journey with its own set of twists and turns, but hey, it's totally doable! Start by owning your role as a single parent right from the get-go, take it slow when introducing your potential partner to your kids, carve out some me-time for yourself, keep an open mind about the kind of relationships you're looking for, and don't underestimate the power of interracial dating done right. The key? Finding someone who vibes with your lifestyle and family dynamic. Your happiness matters just as much as your kiddos'—you can absolutely have both.