Many midlife woman have bodies with a bit more to love than they did in their twenties. Some are self-conscious about their less-than-model-like shapes. I have been.

I was surprised this week to hear from an out-of-the-area man who called me several times a week for a month a few months ago. We’d had a nice connection and he said he wanted to come see me soon, then he went AWOL with an occasional cryptic email. He’d told me he removed himself…

When you look through colored glass, it distorts the colors you see, especially colors in the same range. They are not as vivid as when you look through clear glass. The same is true in relationships. Rose-colored lenses diffuse red — especially red flags. You are smitten. He is so perfect for you. He is…

When we begin to date someone, nearly always he is a stranger. Even if you meet through friends, work, class, church or other activities, you most likely barely know him. While you want to be open and trusting, you also want to be conscious of inconsistencies that point to him not being who he represents…

Unfortunately, this is becoming more common. And not just with men who list themselves from Nigeria or London — hot spots for scams (Nigerian scammers claim to be from London sometimes) — but from others who represent themselves as all-American.

After NPR’s Scott Simon ended his interview with actor/singer Terrence Howard, they walked out together. Scott said, “As we were leaving the studio … he grabbed my arm. ‘I touch you, my fingers leave an imprint,’ he explained. ‘The shape of my fingers will disappear. But maybe something I said will live on. Something you…

Most of the women I know underestimate their attractiveness, not overestimate it. It is easy to be acutely aware of each of your “flaws” since you examine millimeters of your face and body every day — sometimes at 5x magnification. I am astounded when I hear top models complaining about a crooked nose, uneven skin…

DG reader Mike asks: How long into a relationship is it healthy to say I love you?  Is it 2, 3, 6 months? I’m always told I’m doing it to early. I say it when I feel it.  However when the relationship ends my women friends tell me I’ve said it too early. I’ve also…

Both parties in a budding relationship can sabotage it without knowing it. Whether it’s myriad small things or one deal breaker, these acts can make the other disengage and we may not even know what happened. A pal shared an example of how a woman with whom he was beginning to have a relationship sabotaged…

Dating Goddess reader Steve asks: What is the best approach when you begin emailing someone from an online dating site, get interested, then exchange photos and lose most of your interest because the person is unattractive to you? Is this something worth pursuing? Sometimes people look better than their photos. Sometimes as we get to…

My pal shared his counter-stereotypical challenge: Women tried to seduce him before he felt the relationship merited it. Most of my dating men friends have stated they were ready for sex much sooner than the women they dated. Therefore I knew this pal was a rarity worth studying. So I probed.