The former MP was apparently "startled" to discover many daters were only after sex. Mind you, for many middle-aged women, that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. I actually know loads of really attractive single women who all looking for sex. Many of them have come out of loveless, passionless long-term marriages and would be more than happy to have a one-night stand.
People view sex differently these days. I know several couples - one who are actually getting married - who started with the sex and got to know each other later.
Conversely, I met many men who were terrified of women, especially sexually rapacious ones. One rather artistic South African creative spent an entire evening telling me how distressing it was that women kept on trying to entice him in to bed.
But online dating in your middle ages can undoubtedly be a minefield of subterfuge and pitfalls. After four years in the trenches, I finally met my match - we had mutual friends on Facebook and he chatted me up by saying he liked my photograph - and we got married just before Christmas.
If I am relieved, at 50, to be back out of the dating arena again, I am also determined to pass on my dating tips. Here's what I wish I'd known before logging on...
1: No one puts their real age up online. Men who say they are 55 are actually 60 or even older. Also, photos mean nothing.
2: Saying that, beware of anyone who posts photographs of themselves with their kids/ex/holding a pint of beer/strumming an air guitar/has half the picture ripped off (and it is obviously of his wedding day).
3: Never, ever go out with a man who says he is "looking for cuddles". This is not a euphemism for sex. It means he needs looking after and hasn't grown up yet.
4: If a man asks "what are you in to?" then what he means is "what sort of sex are you in to?" - if that's OK with you, proceed. If not, run.
5: Lots of men may well want sex but they have the same body hang-ups as women and many of them - ahem - no longer have the same libido as when they were years younger. This is a tricky area and one which, when we were all first dating, never had to think about.
6: Be really sure about what you are looking for - if a man with his own house and a stable income is important, there is no point in dating the sad, miserable one who has been crucified by divorce and can't afford to buy you dinner. They may be witty and handsome but it's not going to work. I spent far too long dating men I felt sorry for rather than thinking about what I really wanted.
7: Be aware that women and men are often looking for different things - some older men are looking for a carer, really. They can't bear the idea of growing old alone and, underneath all the dating shtick, they are quite happy to put on their slippers.
8: There are some really nice men out there, but they might be hopeless at dating. I've met men who are so nervous that they've fluffed the first date - gabbling on about their exes, for example - but got on much better when given a second chance.
9: Always have a back up plan... I'd send a coded text to my best friend and she'd then text me pretending to be one of my children saying I had to go home immediately. It worked every time and it saves you from being rude.
10: Be careful to make sure they are who they say they are. If someone chats you up, gets you in to bed but is never around at weekends, he is probably already married.
