The stars of Virgin Media’s new matchmaking show ‘Generation Dating’ said the experience has been life-changing - and told of their hopes to curb ‘generational discrimination’ on the dating scene.
The new series is a dating show with a difference, bringing two singletons, separated by a generation or two together with the mission of finding each other “the one”.
In tonight’s show we meet 69-year-old London-Irish Michael Burke and 21-year-old Dubliner Ross Fennell, who both put the experiment to the test by blending the old school moves with today’s new technology.
And it is the start of a beautiful friendship.
Having entered the show not entirely comfortable in exploiting the ‘gay world’, Ross said everything has changed since signing up for the show, saying:
“When Michael came into the house to meet my family that day everything changed.
“Literally everything changed.”
Explaining an ‘awkwardness’ he felt speaking about his sexuality before the show, he explained: “I’m very new to the gay world to the gay scene and I kind of needed that push I have never been on a date before so I was like look I’ll try it.”
But he admitted he found it hard to tell his loved ones about it.
“It was very difficult to say to my family I’m going to do this,” he told the Irish Daily Mirror.
“Because I never came out on facebook I didn’t want to do any of that people that I told knew and there was always between me and my family I spoke about this on the show me and my family never spoke about me being gay or me dating.
“It was just I just came out and that was it.
He went on: “I was comfortable talking about men, I was comfortable talking about boys there was just that kind of awkwardness even though I was out three or four years we never spoke about it because we just so, I don’t know it was just a touchy subject but once Michael came into the house we kind of just relaxed.”
Michael, who is a former member of the gay men’s choir in London who returned from Blighty to live in his ancestral home of Sligo three years ago, told how the moment was also special for him, as he was welcomed into their family.
“I can’t imagine you [Ross] ever having a problem with your family because they’re such wonderful people and so open and embracing.
“They welcomed me in like I they had known me forever and that’s one of the best parts of the whole thing was meeting your family, they were fabulous.”
Old school to the core, Michael has no time for Tinder or hook-up culture and though he’s loving his life in retirement, he reckons the world of dating has moved on without him.
However, he is hoping the show’s unique format will help combat, what he describes as ‘generational discrimination’ and stigma surrounding older people dating.
“One of the things that I am fed up with is younger guys calling me daddy,” he said.
“Enough already - I’m nobody’s daddy,” he laughed.
“What I wanted to do with this as soon as I heard that expression ‘Generation Dating’ I thought okay maybe I will find a sympathetic husband maybe I won’t.
“But what I will do is have the opportunity to interact with people of a different generation and show that we can learn from each other that we can interact and go out and have fun together.”
But the stigma isn’t one sided according to Michael, who feels younger people can also bear the brunt of older generations, who don’t want to interact with them.
“There is an awful lot fo generational stigma, discrimination I guess, where people are ‘oh I can’t possibly talk to that old man’ and older people thinking ‘god look at those kids and the noise they’re making.”
“I don’t like the attitude of a lot of people of my generation saying ‘bleeding kids what do they know they haven’t even lived yet’ well actually they’re living and they have got experiences and they can teach me an awful lot.”
Keen for Ross to own his identity and open up to the world of dating, Michael has great wisdom to impart to his fellow matchmaker, and is hoping he can share some of his experiences to help younger generations.
“Hopefully because of my longevity I can teach them something about what sort of things I went through when I was Ross’s age.
“Like I was engaged to a woman at the age of 21, nearly got married but I met this really rather gorgeous guy but he changed everything.”
Tune in to Virgin Media One on Wednesday night at 9pm to see this intergenerational quest for love.
