Diane Keaton and Living Single in Midlife

Where do you stand on the issue of midlife love?  I read an excerpt from an interview with Diane Keaton that will be in the November 2009 issue of MORE Magazine.

Keaton, was the star of Something’s Gotta Give. In the movie she fell in love with two men – a younger suitor played by Keanu Reeves and a suitor of her own age played by Jack Nicholson. Did you see that movie?  I’m sorry, but there’s no way in this world that I’d give up Keanu Reeves for Jack Nicholson, so I found that part of the story hard to believe. Reeves character was not a “kid” for goodness sake – he was a doctor who looked like Keanu Reeves.

Diane Keaton believes that men don’t look at her as a sexy woman anymore, but I find that as hard to believe as choosing Jack over Keanu. She’s one of those women who ages, but retains her inner light. How does she do that?  That would be a useful trick to learn. 

Here’s an excerpt from her interview. The magazine will be on newstands October 27, 2009. 

A man is “a huge part of life that’s missing, yeah, but I don’t miss it,” Diane Keaton says in a frank, funny and fearless cover story in the November 2009 issue of MORE. She calls her independence “wonderful. I’m free to do what I want to try to do.  I don’t have to worry that I’m not living up to some responsibility as a partner to somebody else.”

I can understand her point. I love my boyfriend, but sometimes I am so busy that I wonder how I’d fit him in if we lived in the same town. Raising three kids on my own – one a very challenging teenager, another frequently ill – it’s exhausting. Another thing, I’ve noticed that as I age my interests grow and I’ve got all these projects that I’m working on. My attention is all over the place. 

The love of a good man is wonderful, but not everything about being single sucks. There’s a lot to be said for having the freedom to do what you want to do.

Image credit: Zuma Press