'Why, at 51, I’d never sleep with a man my own age!' - Writer reveals

A friend introduced me to Dylan when I was 47. He was ridiculously attractive — a personal trainer with blue eyes and blond curls —and there was an instant spark between us. At 27, he was also two decades younger than me.

I’d just signed up for a Tough Mudder challenge, so when Dylan offered to train me for free I leapt at the chance. Soon, we were going on 10k runs four times a week.

The day he asked me out on a date, I could barely contain my joy.

After cheap Italian food (it was all he could afford), we headed back to my flat. The minute I closed the door he kissed me and we made passionate love right there in the hall.

More than once, Dylan told me how sexy I looked — my flat stomach and slender hips, he said, resembled those of a 20-year-old.

While most women my age might be flattered by such a compliment from a man 20 years their junior, I wasn’t surprised. Now 51, I’m in great shape, tall and slim, thanks to a combination of good genes and working out, and I’ve been told almost the same thing by younger men on many occasions.

Which is why I was appalled when author Yann Moix recently announced that he preferred ‘young women’s bodies’ and that: ‘The body of a 25-year-old woman is extraordinary. The body of a 50-year-old woman is not extraordinary at all.’

To me this makes no sense, and his ignorance — and arrogance — is staggering. If I were to compare my body now with my body at 25, I’d say my body now is far more extraordinary.

I have never felt more attractive. I no longer smoke nor go out drinking every weekend, as I did at university. I take better care of myself by exercising five times a week, getting plenty of sleep and eating a mostly vegetarian diet.

My body reflects these life changes: I’m leaner and far more toned, my complexion glowing and smooth.

However, most 50-year-old men make little or no effort to look as good as I do. In my experience, most men that age are overweight and out of shape — and the thought of having to sleep with one makes my skin crawl.

Young at heart

These days, 16 per cent of relationships comprise an older woman and a younger man compared with just 10 per cent in 1960, found a 2017 study