Dating a 60-Year-Old: Never Again!

 star Vanelle Fenmou has vowed never to date an older man again after quitting the reality series Age of Attraction and dumping her partner, who was 33 years her senior.

Vanelle, who was 27 when she filmed the streamer's new dating show, told the Daily Mail that relationships with older men can make it harder to grow and build a life together, as they are often set in their ways - declaring she has now officially retired from big age-gap romances. 

The project manager from Dallas was among the first contestants on Age of Attraction, the dating show where singles meet without knowing each other's ages until they commit to moving in together.  

She was left stunned after discovering that her partner, Jorge Sanchez, was in his 60s, 33 years her senior, remarking that he was the same age as her parents. The couple struggled to see eye to eye, and she quit the show just days later. 

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, Vanelle revealed: 'I am retiring from older guys. I have really noticed that it is hard to grow and build with someone who's so much older and has all their experiences and believes that their experiences outweigh yours. It's hard to change a man who's been set in their ways for 60 years. 

'I am ready to date someone closer to my age and build with and have fun with and learn from them and they learn from me. I want to have a voice and a partnership, and a true partnership. Going on Age of Attraction has taught me I want to be with someone closer to my age.'

After dating without knowing each other's ages, Vanelle and Jorge decided to take their relationship to the next level by committing to each other and finally revealing their true ages.

Before moving into an apartment in Canada, where the show was filmed, Vanelle admitted she had convinced herself that the man she was falling for was no older than his late 40s.

She said: 'I would have never guessed that he was 60 years old. In that moment, I was so shocked. I had convinced myself throughout the whole process that he was in his 40s.

'When I found out his age, I thought wow, there are people in their 60s here. But at that point, I was too far in with my feelings and too invested that his age didn't matter to me anymore. I had my heart set on him, and I was willing to make it work no matter his age.

'The producers really told us to forget about age, so I didn't think about it at all unless they asked me.'

From the start of her romance with father Jorge, Vanelle was upfront about being celibate and wanting to continue honouring her Christian faith.

But after succumbing to 'temptation,' she and Jorge became intimate, with the couple engaging in a sex act that was ultimately filmed for the series.

Since the show aired, Vanelle has faced vicious trolling from the Christian community, who have branded her 'disgusting' over her behaviour.

She said: 'I fell into temptation. Jorge outed me in a way when it was both of us in the bedroom kissing together, we were both in the bedroom and had our hands all over each other, being romantic with each other, and if he didn't want that he could have said stop and that it was confusing him but never in that moment did he say to stop. 

'That's ultimately why I decided to leave. My faith does matter to me, and I knew I couldn't continue on like that.

'I am still getting comments right now... how could you do this, you're disgusting. I am getting bashed throughout the Christian community. The Christian girls are bashing me.

'I was authentic and true to myself and expressed my love for Christ, but other people are saying I'm a fake Christian and a disappointment to the Lord because I am on the show, talked about my celibacy, but I ended up having oral intimacy… so I'm not a real Christian.'

Vanelle said that experiencing trolling for the first time has been difficult to process, but since the show was filmed a year ago, she has already done the healing she needed after the relationship broke down. 

She added: 'I didn't know how much was being put on the show so it's been hard reading people's comments like you're disgusting, you're dry humping on TV, so I had to delete the apps off my phone and clear my mind. Now I'm in a much better space.

'What other people say and think about me doesn't bother me. My faith is everything to me and God is all I care about living for. It's been a year now, so I've done the work.'

During her time on Age of Attraction, which is hosted by US couple Nick Viall and Natalie Joy, who themselves have an 18-year age gap, Vanelle said her parents made it clear that she couldn't date a man more than 10 years older than her. 

After returning home following the end of her romance with Jorge, Vanelle said her siblings were outspoken about their disapproval of the age difference, but her mother's reaction came as a surprise. 

She said: 'When I went home and told my family about it, my older sister hated it. She said, why are you trying to date him, my other siblings didn't say it to my face but now they say they're so glad I didn't end up with him.

'My mum, shockingly enough, she told me to call him back. When I told her I left the show and we had broken up, she encouraged me to call him.

'Mind you, I have never introduced any guy to my parents before, they don't know anything about my dating history.

'My mum would have preferred me not to be with someone who's 60 years old, but she wanted me to be happy; she was supportive.'

After going their separate ways and quitting the show, Vanelle almost flew to Los Angeles, where Jorge lives, to reconcile.

But she pulled out at the last minute, deciding her intuition was correct - Jorge had shown red flags both during filming and afterward that she couldn't ignore.

She said: 'After leaving the experience, I went back to normal life and couldn't really talk about the show. It was hard to adjust.

'There were a few things when I was unpacking, and I was reminded of the good times together, so I reached out to him.

'We wanted to try again and I booked a flight to LA to see him. But throughout the process of booking the flight, I was noticing a lot more red flags; he tends to have a quick temper. I noticed he was impatient, and those were things that reassured me of the decision I made. I decided not to go - our communication was just not good.'

Vanelle wasn't the only contestant on Age of Attraction to fall for someone significantly older.

John Merrill, who was also 27 at the time of filming, committed to Theresa DeMaria, 54, unaware of their 27-year age difference and that he was younger than her son.

Since the show wrapped, the couple has also split, citing their age gap as the fundamental problem. 

Vanelle explained that the cast only filmed for six weeks in total and went on just a few dates before having to decide whether to commit to each other.

She said: 'We only went on three or four dates before moving in, but when you're filming, it feels so much longer.

'We filmed the show for six weeks and I left a week before the filming ended because of my breakup.

'When we were dating, all the girls lived in one hotel and all the guys lived in a separate hotel, and every morning we would go on dates, so we only saw each other when we were there. We only saw the guys when we were going on dates. We weren't mingling altogether. We were very separate during the beginning stages.

'I liked the concept of not knowing someone's age. I am notorious for dating older guys and have dated older guys in my past, so I went on the show wanting to find someone my age or closer to my age. I needed someone my age and someone to grow and build with.

'But it just so happens that I ended up with someone considerably older.'