Grandmother Gen Rosen, 87, told her granddaughter Carley Lake, 29, that she was ready to find a companion.
Gen’s husband Gene Rosen died in 2007, aged 79, and she lived alone for many years.
But this year she confessed to Carley that she was ready to meet other people.
Carley was moving abroad and was worried that her gran, who is her best friend, would become lonely so welcomed the news.
Entrepreneur Carley then made it her mission to find her gran a date and set her up with a profile on Match.com.
Two weeks before Carley moved abroad for work, the pair set up dating profiles on Jdate and Match.
After wading through unsuitable matches – including men after much younger girlfriends – she helped her gran send messages to potential suitors.
One reply came back from Vic White, 84 – and four months on the pair are now an item, living together through lockdown, in Palm Springs, California.
Carley is now launching a dating app for older people, and retired travel consultant Gen is happier than ever.
The criterion for the match was a liberal thinker who lived close by and was happy to date someone in their 80s – and didn’t have a gun in their photos.
Carley helped filter through potential dates and offered ideas for introductory messages.
She and Gen sent two of the ten matches a message – but Gen’s only conversation was with Vic, who was also her first and only date in January.
Gen said: ‘We are a great couple – we share everything, we’re happy. I haven’t been so happy in years.’
Vic, a retired operations manager, who was also widowed, had his neighbour set him up with a year-long subscription which he cancelled after meeting Gen.
The pair moved in together in February.
Vic said: ‘I got her for $62! (£51.21).
‘The first date we had at the coffee shop, we went in and instead of coffee we had a three-hour lunch.
‘Right from the beginning we were attracted to each other.’
Gen added: ‘We’ve been living together through this virus and we do everything together – we’re happy together all the time.
‘My daughter said “mum, it’s going too fast”.
‘I said, “I’m 87 and I’ve been a widow for 13 years – what am I waiting for?”.’
After the success of this match, Carley and her boyfriend Chris Brauchli, 31, are designing an app to help others reconnect with the elder generation.
The Hi, Grandma app will offer prompts, including conversation starters and ideas for games that will aid communication between generations.
The pair are hoping to incorporate the opportunity to donate to Meals on Wheels and Doctors Without Borders within the app to further aid the elderly.
Carley said: ‘I really want to figure out a way – and I think this app is the first step – to really spark intergenerational connection and learning.
‘I wanted to spur that connection, but do it in a fun and creative way, and keep it going.
‘It’s a never-ending resource bank of things to do and talk about with your grandparents.’
Users will also be also encouraged to use the conversation starters with those in their local community too.
Carley added: ‘It’s a way to show gratitude, to bring back nostalgia for our grandparents, to ask advice.
‘At the end of the day, I really hope seniors feel a little less lonely and a little more connected.’
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/05/18/grandmother-87-finds-love-match-com-moves-new-boyfriend-12719329/
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