Use New Year’s and Dating Sunday to clean up bad habits, heal old relationships and build the self-love you need to date bravely

Dating over 50 is hard enough without your own insecurities quietly hijacking the process. In this episode of Love at Any Age, Laurie Gerber goes beyond body image and dives into five more self-love “hot spots” that can block you from finding healthy, lasting love in midlife: bad habits, flirting and sex, family relationships, exes, and deep unresolved hauntings.

If you’ve ever thought, “Maybe it’s the apps,” “Maybe it’s men,” or “Maybe it’s just my age,” Laurie gently but firmly makes the case that the real opportunity is inside your relationship with yourself—and that’s the part you can actually change. In honor of New Year’s and Dating Sunday (January 4th, the biggest day of the year for joining dating sites), she walks you through how to turn vague resolutions into concrete promises that actually move your love life forward.

In this episode, Laurie covers: ✅ Why you can’t imagine someone loving you well if you don’t yet love yourself that way ✅ The hidden cost of “harmless” bad habits (drinking, sugar, screens, porn, spending, overworking) on your confidence and intimacy ✅ A kinder, more effective way to change habits ✅ Why flirting, sex, and “being good in bed” are learnable skills at any age (and how to start practicing) ✅ How adult children, aging parents, money, and inheritance worries quietly sabotage dating ✅ What to clean up with exes so the “job opening” for your future partner is truly available ✅ How unresolved hauntings from childhood or past relationships haunt dating ✅ Simple first steps for getting support so you’re not carrying it all alone ✅ Exactly how to design your action steps so you don’t abandon your goals by March

Laurie will challenge you to stop beating yourself up and instead build true self-esteem by making a plan that honors your dream of lasting, healthy love in midlife.

Timestamps 00:00 → 02:32 – Welcome back + why self-love is non-negotiable for dating over 50 (and recap of episode 9 on body image) 02:32 → 07:11 – Bad habits: from “annoying” to addiction, how they drain confidence and intimacy, and why this New Year is your moment 07:11 → 11:12 – Flirting and sex: why nobody is “just bad at it,” how practice and communication build sexy confidence at any age 11:12 → 16:52 – Family relationships: adult children, aging parents, inheritance, and how unspoken expectations quietly block your love life 16:52 → 19:29 – Exes: when past relationships still occupy the “love of your life” slot and why you may need a full detox 19:29 → 24:15 – Unresolved hauntings: apologies, amends, and designing personal rituals to clear old emotional slime 24:15 → 29:03 – New Year, Dating Sunday, and why promises with consequences work better than vague resolutions 29:03 → 31:20 – Recap, encouragement, and teaser for next week’s episode: making the case for online dating in midlife

Links & Resources 📺 Watch Past Episodes: https://lauriegerber.com/love-at-any-age Episodes Laurie mentions in this conversation: ✅ Episode 2 – Detoxing Past Relationships Before You Date Again (how to do a full “love detox”) ✅ Episode 5 – How to Design Difficult Conversations in Dating Over 50 (Laurie’s 8-step script) ✅ Episode 8 – How to Handle Rejection When You’re Dating Over 50 (why handling “no” is a superpower) ✅ Episode 9 – Self-Love & Body Image in Midlife Dating (start here if body image is your biggest insecurity)

✅Stay connected with Laurie: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lauriegerbercoach Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lauriegerber_coach/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lauriegerberdatingcoach LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriegerber Podbean: https://lauriegerbercoach.podbean.com/

✅ Coaching & consults: email LaurieGerberCoach@gmail.com for private coaching or referrals

If one of these insecurities hit home, or if Laurie missed yours, share it in the YouTube comments so she can speak directly to it in a future episode.