Soap star Claudia Carroll has opened up about her struggle trying to find love in her 50s – revealing she even got rejected by a matchmaking agency because of her age.
The 55-year-old - who played the iconic role of Nicola Prendergast on Fair City - opened up about how being single can be lonely - but she hasn't given up on finding love.
The author hasn't been in a relationship for quite some time now and says her age might be a “boundary” when looking for a new partner.
"I'm a long-time single person and maybe I've passed some boundary that I'm repelling men now," she said.
Revealing that she was "rejected" by a match-making agency, she said: "They took all my details, but when I said my age, the lady asked what age of a guy I'd be looking for.
"And she closed the book and said that she was really sorry but the bad news was that while she could take my money, the matches would probably be older men of 80+.
"The reality is that most men in their 50s want younger and they can get them because they are in a buyer's market.
"So yes, there's a loneliness to being single."
She admitted she never had a desire to start a family, adding; "The absolute need to have a child bypassed me".
But Claudia said she hasn’t given up on finding love.
She told the RTE Guide: "I'm old-fashioned, an '80s kid and I'm hoping still that one day I'll be up a mountain and I'll see this gorgeous fellow and it will go from there. So there is that hope in me.
"The positive thing is that what I observe now is that a lot of people are coming out of long-term relationships and marriages, with grown-up kids, newly single, so there are single women and single guys out there."
As for what she is looking for in a partner, Claudia says it's all about "companionship".
"Someone to go to the movies with and theatre with, someone to have a laugh with and a good chat," she added.
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