
Real-life golden bachelors and bachelorettes find love later in life
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FOR TWO HOLLYWOOD VETERANS, LOVE ENTERED THE PICTURE Jackie Joseph, 90, and David Lawrence, 92 LOCATION: Los Angeles, STATUS: Married since 2003 FIRST BLUSHES. As Hollywood veterans — he’s a
writer and producer from the infancy of television and a onetime head of the Television Academy; she’s a former actress and dancer who was married to TV star Ken Berry — David and Jackie
“had tons of people in common in the arts,” Jackie says, but didn’t get together until they were alone for a while after both their spouses died. “I was single, on purpose, for about 30
years, and then I got a phone call,” says Jackie, who was working as a counselor to women (and a few men) recovering from divorce, separation or widowhood. “I assumed David was calling for
some help. Then the varied and unexpected happened: Love entered the picture.” Soon after a dinner date in 1999, “I invited Jackie over to my condo to swim,” David says. They were 65 and 67
at the time. “The biggest nightmare was to put on a bathing suit,” Jackie says. THE SECRET SAUCE. “The art is to show your true self without overthinking it or pretending to be fancy or
anything else,” says Jackie. “Even among creative types, there’s no room for ‘acting’ in a relationship.” David says his connection comes down to a visceral feeling. “Every time I see her,
she takes my breath away,” he says. LEARNING TO LOVE … “We have differences in taste, especially around decor,” says Jackie. “When I first came to his place, David had some paintings of
women that were a little too risqué for me.” David admits he hasn’t overcome his “admiration for the female form, but I agreed to move the pictures out of the living room.” BETTER WITH AGE.
“Even in our 90s, I feel that life together still has surprises, even new adventures, and that’s all because of the love we share,” Jackie says. Says David, “I’ll sum up my attitude by
saying to your readers, no matter how old you are, I hope one day you have something like what we have.” “What’s a nice Jewish girl from New Jersey doing with a hot cattleman with a
40,000-acre ranch?” Jill Rothenberg asked herself when she started a relationship with Lee Ray Jackson. But sparks kept flying, and the two are now engaged. Courtesy Jill Rothenberg Lee and
Ray Jackson / Getty Images “I MET MY GOLDEN BACHELOR, AND HE’S A REAL COWBOY!” Jill Rothenberg, 57, and Lee Ray Jackson, 62 LOCATION: Lee Ray lives on his family’s third-generation ranch
in southeast Colorado. An East Coaster by birth who later spent many years in Denver, Jill now keeps a place in Pueblo, Colorado, and visits Lee Ray several times a month. STATUS: Engaged
FIRST BLUSHES. After her other long-term relationships and his two marriages didn’t work out, Jill and Lee Ray met online during COVID and had their first date at Home Depot. “As soon as she
walked in, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that she was the woman I wanted to be with,” he says. “She’s really beautiful!” Sparks kept flying, and Jill, an author, couldn’t help but ask,
“What’s a nice Jewish girl from New Jersey doing with a hot cattleman with a 40,000-acre ranch?” THE SECRET SAUCE. “To me, he’s like an oak tree — solid, calm and just so nice to be around,”
Jill says. “We can be grownups together, but sometimes we can be like 10-year-olds and just laugh and have fun.” Lee Ray says he’s “never met a woman with such an honest personality or
someone I can trust with my heart like this.” LEARNING TO LOVE … Navigating their own version of _City Slickers._ “I’ve dragged Lee Ray to Ikea, which I love but was his biggest nightmare,”
Jill says. Says Lee Ray, “I’m in my happy place chopping wood or brisket-tagging the cattle, and Jill will sometimes look at me like, What are you talking about?” BETTER WITH AGE. “I don’t
know if it’s my age or just finally finding the right person, but I can be more open at this point than I ever have before,” Lee Ray says. “Even if we find obstacles, we know we can work our
way through them.” Jill says it “sometimes feels weird being older in a new relationship,” but Lee Ray’s mom, who’s 80, reassured her. “She said, ‘It’s not weird at all,’ ” Jill recalls. “
‘You two are just very taken with each other. You met at the age you were supposed to meet.’ ” _Editor's note: This article was originally published on Nov. 30, 2022. It has been
updated to reflect new information._