It's never too late to marry: how later-life weddings are on the rise

Traditionally, marriage is a milestone you expect to hit in your twenties or thirties.

But according to the Office for National Statistics, the number of people over 50 getting married for the first time nearly doubled between 2014 and 2022, with 20,506 tying the knot in 2022 alone.

Last year, comedian Miranda Hart hit the headlines after revealing she’d married for the first time aged 51.

Here, three first-time brides share the joy of finding their husbands in later life.

1. Married at 60 - Virginia Blackburn

As far as first dates go, you wouldn’t have thought this was going to be a remarkable one. We were meeting on a park bench, with a bit of drizzle in the air; both of us as nervous as teenagers.

But that day, 4 June 2020, changed my life. Six months later we were engaged; two years later we were married. At the age of 60 I became a first-time bride to my husband, Justin Urquhart-Stewart, the uncontested love of my life.

You don’t think that, as you enter ‘act three’, you will find the happiness that previously eluded you, but that’s what happened to me. I had actually first met Justin, who is seven years older than me, in 1994 as he is a high-profile investment manager and I was a financial journalist, but he was married and we lost touch.

I was always aware of him as he built up his successful firm 7 Investment Management and became known as ‘the man in the red braces’. However, I never thought we’d meet again.

I had a couple of serious relationships and marriage was mentioned, but for some reason it never gelled. Nor did I want children, so that was not a reason to settle for Mr Wrong.

Then, in early 2019, Justin was sadly widowed and at the end of that year got in touch. First we were friends on Facebook, then we started emailing. Then came a tentative suggestion: would I like to meet for a drink? Yes, I would. Then Covid got in the way.

When we finally managed to meet, everything changed overnight. It was just as much a hearts and flowers situation as it is for any young couple starting out. Yes, there were butterflies in the tummy. Yes, there was waiting on tenterhooks for the phone to ring.

But there is a difference: when you’ve had to wait for such a long time for the right person, you know how lucky you are, and you will make every effort to sustain it.

Frank Sinatra was right: love, like youth, is wasted on the young.

The proposal took place in Justin’s kitchen; it was still unexpected. And wonderful.

We got married on 7 May 2022 in St Bride’s, the journalists’ church, me in a long white gown and even longer veil; my handsome husband in his tartan trews. We had 80 guests and a reception at Claridge’s – a wonderful London wedding.

And he was worth the wait. 

2. Age-gap wedding - Cynthia Green

On my 58th birthday in March 2022, my daughter sent me a card saying her wish was for me to finally find my person.

Three weeks later, I met maintenance worker Milo, 44, at a party in Essex. We danced all night, went for dinner the next day, and have been virtually inseparable since. This year, I’ll be getting married for the first time, aged 61.

Milo made me feel youthful, all giggly. Initially, I was nervous about the age gap, but we quickly realised it wasn’t going to be an issue. When you’re older, you know what you want, and this was special. People said there was something different about me – I was glowing with the joy of it all.

That August, I travelled to America to see my twin sister and realised how much I missed him. We video-called every day to the point my sister joked, ‘Why did you bother coming?’ On one of these calls, we said we loved each other and decided to move in together in London.

Then, in January 2023, I had a breast cancer scare.

Three days before I got my results, Milo proposed. He said he needed me to know he would be there, no matter what.

I was in the kitchen wearing washing-up gloves, my bed hat, and my onesie. He walked in and put a rose on the countertop and when I turned around, he was down on one knee. I felt like I was walking on clouds – it was the realisation that, out of billions of people, he’d chosen me.

As a celebrant, I’ve performed thousands of weddings, serving as a registrar on TV shows such as Married at First Sight and Love is Blind. Occasionally, I’d wonder if it would be me one day. I can’t believe that day is now finally on the horizon.

We are getting married in Japan in December as we love it there, with around 20 people attending.

When I look at my engagement ring, my heart flips over. With two grown-up children in their thirties, I have the freedom to put everything into the relationship. That’s the beauty of getting married in later life. We’re music lovers, so we go out dancing a lot, play darts, watch quiz shows, and exercise together. Half of our living room is a gym, with ‘his and hers’ pull-up bars.

I strongly believe in ‘nothing before its time’. My relationship with my children’s father lasted for 17 years, but we never tied the knot. I didn’t come close to marriage with anyone else and assumed it would never happen.

I’d convinced myself it was enough to have my job, my four grandchildren, and holidays with my sister. But when I met Milo, I realised what I’d been missing.

3. The joy of remarrying - Janette Rae

Lockdown was especially difficult for Janette, now 72, a retired private chef. Her husband had died in April 2019, and despite the company of two Airedale terriers, she struggled with loneliness.

By 2021, she decided it was time to seek companionship, inspired by an advert for Saga Connections in Saga Magazine. 

One night, she was sitting in her static caravan in the Scottish Borders, flicking through profiles. John’s face appeared – and he lived only five miles up the road.

"I messaged him asking if he might like to meet for a coffee sometime," she says. John, now 76, a retired farmer, was keen – his wife had passed away in 2020.

He visited her caravan and drove her around the county. One of Janette’s terriers settled happily on John’s knee. The approval of her dogs was crucial.

Having passed this test, she invited him for lunch back at the caravan the next day.

They began seeing each other at weekends, Janette travelling 60 miles from her South Lanarkshire home to her caravan, and John visiting her. In 2022, he asked her to move in with him.

In December 2023, they travelled to Madeira. John had a secret hidden in his luggage – an engagement ring. He got a taxi to take them to see the Christmas lights from one of the hills overlooking the city of Funchal.

"It was spectacular," says John. "The perfect place to propose."

As they had both previously had a traditional church wedding, they settled on a small ceremony at Gretna Green, with 18 guests. A rail journey to Lake Garda in Italy served as their honeymoon.

They hope to spend their married lives exploring more of Britain together in their new motor home.