Ulrika Jonsson has been alone for almost two years and is now ready to become a cougar and find love with a younger man.
The TV host has joined up for the reality show Celebs Go Dating in the hopes of finding a boyfriend.
She has entrusted her complicated love life to the show’s matchmakers – and has lowered the age limit for possible partners.
When asked if she’s ready to date a younger man, Ulrika smiles and says, “Yeah, it’s all about the maturity of the individual, so I’ve kind of given them a little leeway in that department!”
“I guess I’ve been a little wary of dating men my age because, in my experience, they seem fairly f***ing dull.” I don’t want to be boring anymore; I want to have fun.”
Ulrika, 54, divorced her third husband, American advertising executive Brian Monet, 52, in 2019, saying they had sex only once in their eight-year marriage.
Since then, the mother of four has chronicled her single life, including wild evenings out with guys she met online.
Ulrika, on the other hand, is tired of the “disposable environment” of dating applications.
“I suppose I’m quite old fashioned, and I’m also quite old,” she says.
“I’ve had a lot of chats with people, and some of them didn’t go anywhere, which is a little soul-destroying.”
“There’s a sense that people are continually peering over your shoulder to see what’s next, so it’s a numbers game and a conveyor belt.”
“You can’t just say, ‘Oh, I’m going to focus on this individual.’ You have to stick your neck out because you’ll be lucky if you get a nice match with one or two people out of a hundred.”
Ulrika married her first husband, cameraman John Turnbull, when she was 23 years old. England coach Sven-Göran Eriksson and footballer Stan Collymore are two famous exes.
She met her second husband, ex-Army major Lance Gerrard-Wright, while hosting Mr Right, a dating show. It was three years long.
Despite her string of failed relationships, Ulrika maintains that she is not unlucky in love.
“I’ve loved a lot, been in love, and had some wonderful relationships.” “I believe that just because a relationship ends doesn’t always imply it’s a bad thing,” she explains.
And, as the show’s oldest contestant, she sees herself as a voice for other women her age who are dating.
“I want to try and normalize the reality that women in their fifties are still living, viable, able beings and members of society who deserve their position just as much,” Ulrika continues.
“All you have to do is accept it and be wild, because you only get one life!”