Cynthia Bailey is back on the dating scene, but this time around, The Real Housewives of Atlanta alum doesn’t have a lot of time to waste. During an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail Aug. 13, the 56-year-old Atlanta socialite and veteran model said she’s enjoying the single life but fears that she may not have “a lot of time” to find love again.
Bailey hasn’t given up on finding her special someone. The former reality TV star told the Daily Mail that she’s already been on some “really cool dates” and hopes that the “third time is a charm.”
“I’ve met some really cool people. I’m not in anything serious yet, but I like a couple of people. They have my interests for sure,” she added.
Cynthia Bailey has been divorced twice.
In 2010, the RHOA star tied the knot with entrepreneur and restaurateur Peter Thomas. If you’re a fan of the show, you may remember seeing the couple’s lavish wedding in Season 3 in 2011. Sadly, Bailey and Thomas’ love story ended after seven years of marriage in 2017.
The beautiful muse went on to find love with sportscaster Mike Hill. The former lovebirds got engaged in 2019 and walked down the aisle in 2020. After two years together, the couple made an amicable decision to part ways in 2022.
According to divorce documents obtained by PEOPLE, the former couple cited that there was no chance of reconciling their marriage. In Hill’s divorce filing, the FOX sportscaster noted that his union with the model was “irretrievably broken.”
Cynthia Bailey isn’t rushing the process.
Bailey is carefully weighing her options on the dating scene, and she’s not rushing to seal the deal with just anyone. The star told the publication that she’s been taking her time and enjoying the single life.
“I definitely wanted to take the time to just really just sit with my divorce and new singleness and just be ready to start dating,” Bailey said. “But the problem is I’m 56, so I don’t have a lot of time. I can’t sit around for a couple of years and have a hot girl summer at 60… I guess I could, but that wouldn’t be my preference.”
The Bravo alum continued, “I kind of felt like, as in any breakup or divorce, a lot of times you start disconnecting and going through the breakup process before you actually break up. And that’s kind of what happened with me. So, by the time it actually happened, I was kind of like, ‘Okay, let me not miss my person by not allowing myself to get back out there because of time.’”
When she finally made the decision to tread back out onto the scary dating scene, Bailey took things “slow and steady.”
What’s her dating app of choice, you ask? The mother and beauty guru is having a blast on Raya. She has a couple of requirements this time around, too. Bailey is looking for her next man to be fine and over 40. He has to be “consistent” and a great communicator, too.
“I think one of the great things, if there’s a positive of going through two marriages and two divorces, is not only knowing what you want [but] knowing what I don’t want,” the actress and model explained. “I’m old school, you have to actually get on the phone with me, and then we’re Face Timing. I need to see what we’re working with. For me, if you’re interested, I need you to really just show up out the gate, really show that you’re interested, and then be consistent. If you come in strong and then you fall off, then that doesn’t work. You can’t start off calling me a couple of times a day, and then I hear from you a couple times a week.”
If you are hoping to win over Bailey’s heart, make sure you have a passion for adventure and a lust for travel. The gorgeous reality television star said she would love to be able to catch a flight to the Maldives with her next partner.
“The Maldives is one of the top places on my list, but it’s just one of those places that I refuse to go. First of all, I don’t want to go with girlfriends. It’s just too beautiful and quiet and sexy. I want to go with a man that I want to be with, and that wants to be with me,” she added.
Cynthia Bailey isn’t the only person over 50 that has gone through a divorce.
It’s becoming a huge problem for a lot of baby boomers entering retirement. Adults between the ages of 55 and 64 have a high divorce rate of 46%, according to 2023 divorce statistics published by Forbes.
The issue has become a significant problem among Black couples, who have the highest divorce rate at a soaring 30.8 % and a low marriage rate of 17.3%.
Hispanic couples are at number two, with a divorce rate of 18.5. However, marriage rates are slightly higher among the group in comparison to white couples. Forbes noted that Hispanic couples have been maintaining a steady marriage rate of 33.2 % compared to white couples, who hold a marriage rate of 32.1% and a divorce rate of 15.1%
Cynthia Bailey may want to move out of Georgia to find love.
If the model wants to find love, she may have better luck moving to a different state. Wallethub’s 2023 Best & Worst States for Singles list ranked Georgia at No. 25 for its compatibility with singles. The finance site evaluated conditions like dating economics, dating opportunities and romance & fun to formulate their scores. The peach state received a score of 50.51 due to there being a limited number of dating opportunities in the city. Dating economics and romantic activities also received a low score in Georgia.
California and New York were the top two best states for singles, listed at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Dating opportunities are more widely available in both states, and there are plenty of things for singles to do in either location. But going out on a date will cost you a pretty penny in both states. New York and California are two of the most expensive states for singles, according to the data.
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