Woman Marries for 1st Time at 76 After Meeting Man, 81, on Dating Site — What She’s Learned from Her Journey to Love

For most of her life, Janet Fontane dreamed of one thing: to be married, to love, and to be loved in return.

That dream finally came true when she walked down the aisle at 76 years old — and now, she’s sharing the lessons she’s learned about finding love later in life.

Fontane opened up about her journey in a personal essay for Business Insider, recalling how she dated many men over the years but never found “the one.” After retiring from her career in international marketing in 2016, she took a personal development course that encouraged her to reconnect with her deepest desires.

For Fontane, the dream she “wanted fulfilled more than any of the others” was marriage. With her newfound freedom in retirement, she decided to fully commit to that goal.

“Just as I had thrown myself into my work, I would throw myself into finding my soulmate to spend the last few decades of my life with,” she wrote.

A friend, Gina Guddat — a relationship counselor and author of The Relationship Roadmap — helped her set up an online dating profile. Fontane uploaded several photos and shared her passions: traveling, skiing, attending church, and volunteering through Rotary Club.

Then, in February 2021, she matched with Cliff — and everything changed.

They began talking on the phone, as she was in Seattle and he lived in Phoenix. When Cliff planned a trip to Seattle to visit his son, they met in person at a vineyard.

“He was such a gentleman. We talked for three hours,” Fontane remembered. “While I wasn’t sure if it would be something that would last, I decided to give us a chance and called him to talk again a couple of days later.”

Soon, their daily phone calls became constant. “The rest, as they say, is history,” she wrote.

Their long-distance romance lasted several years before Cliff, now 81, suggested in December 2023 that they pick out rings together — joking that he couldn’t quite get down on one knee anymore.

In April, Fontane finally had her dream wedding.

“I had a wedding planner, a lace dress, a bridal party and a wedding photographer — the fairytale wedding I had dreamt of for years,” she shared. “It was a celebration of two very different, separate worlds coming together. We had lived so many chapters of our lives separately and were coming together to finish our final chapters together.”

Fontane reflected on the unique experience of marrying at an older age as a reminder of how fleeting life can be.

“Several loved ones died in the lead-up to our wedding, and we missed them on the day,” she wrote. “While grieving, we celebrated the love and life in the room. I don’t think this is a feeling I would have felt had I married at a younger age.”

Fontane’s story has since inspired others who believe it might be too late for love.

“When friends hear about our love story, they often remark that it gives them hope that they, too, might find love in their later years,” she said.

Today, Fontane says she’s grateful for Cliff — who “makes me laugh and puts me first, above himself.”

“I know he has my back for the rest of the years I’m alive, no matter what happens as we age,” she said.