There are many stories of men lying about their age on dating apps in hopes of meeting a younger woman.
But beauty entrepreneur Liz Earle, 61, turned the cliché on its head when she searched online for a man after a divorce in her 50s.
She revealed how she shaved ten years off her age for her dating profile, apparently with great success, as she’s now celebrating an anniversary with a man 17 years her junior.
Earle made the candid confession on the How To Be 60 podcast.
She explained: “I was 59 at the time and I had just done one of my genetic tests for my book and it came out like 39, so I thought, there’s quite a big difference, what am I going to do?
Beauty entrepreneur Liz Earle, 61, revealed how she shaved ten years off her age for her dating profile, apparently with great success as she is now celebrating an anniversary with a man 17 years her junior.
‘If I put 59, would you expect someone to behave that way, maybe there’s a perception of it?
“So I split the difference and put in 49.”
She said her friend had told her she needed to “play the numbers game” and go on 100 coffee dates to find the right man.
“I had about eight cups of coffee and there was really no one to provoke,” he said.
“And then I got a message in my inbox and I thought, hey, that’s a pretty interesting younger guy… a year later, we’re about to celebrate our anniversary.”
Mrs. Earle added that she “wanted to manage expectations as best as possible, but I had to come clean very quickly.”
“I said it and I was a little nervous about it,” she said.
The businesswoman, who grew up in Portsmouth, founded Liz Earle Beauty in 1995 and has written more than 35 books on beauty, wellness and nutrition.
She divorced her second husband, Patrick Drummond, when she was 50 and described that period as “terrifying”.
But this pushed her to do new and “weird” things, including going clubbing for the first time in her life.
She explained: ‘My boyfriend took me to Ibiza for the first time last year because I’ve never gone clubbing.
‘He was a big clubber at the time, he was a DJ promoter and all that. He took me and I actually bought a silver sequin mini dress that I wore with very, very high platforms.
Dating secret: Ms Earle made candid confession on How To Be 60 podcast
Liz said she had switched to a dating website from an app after being blocked for allegedly impersonating herself.
Earle said his online search for a partner had not been without setbacks.
She said she had switched to a dating website from an app after being blocked for allegedly impersonating herself.
‘I was very honest: I uploaded photos of myself (but) I just changed my name slightly.
“Anyway, I got blocked for impersonating Liz Earle,” she added.