Dateable: Your insider's look into modern dating and relationships

There’s comfort in knowing so many people out there are struggling with the same issues and that there’s a community of wise, likeminded women who’ve experienced it all before. Thanks for helping me work through the challenges of modern dating! My question for Brunch Talk is: Is a successful outcome possible for the friendship approach to relationship building after it initially started off as sexual/romantic in nature? How long should one allow for the friendship to grow back into something romantic? Background: Woman and man both in mid-40s. Man is 50/50 single dad with two kids, divorced 5 years. Woman is also divorced 5 years, no kids. Started out with lots of chemistry, man set pace with frequent dates in first month until one day he said he felt it was going too fast. Eventually a later conversation disclosed he really enjoys my company, isn’t relationship ready right now as he “has to get his head sorted,” but wants to build a foundation of friendship first. He eventually does want a relationship and does like me. Starting seeing him about 3 months ago. Unfortunately this is a recurring pattern in dating within this age group, but most men just cut it off completely saying they feel it isn’t fair to me to wait around. But this one at least wants to keep me in his life so I am optimistic. I hate multi dating because I feel I can’t be fully present if my mind is thinking about other people but I’m not sure if he’s out there looking tbh.

A loyal listener since 2019, and it has given me so much perspective on dating (and life!), with awesome guests, and some of my fave episodes include Logan Ury, Vanessa Van Edwards and Marc Katz (and Julie’s story!) They’re also really fun and I love the community they’ve built.