IT WON’T BE OBVIOUS TO AUDIENCES WATCHING GEMLIFE’S NEW TV SERIES, AGELESS, BUT IT’S HEIDI SOMMER-BALL’S FIRST TIME ON TELEVISION.
Usually the Brisbane-based relationship counsellor features on radio, but for AGELESS we watch her overcome any nerves to confidently give advice about navigating love in a digital world.
Heidi, 50, has tried online dating and can vouch for its effectiveness.
“So many people in the over-50s age bracket are reluctant to try online dating and that might be because they’re unfamiliar with it,” Heidi says.
“Everything is online now though and it’s efficient, so I encourage people to give it a try. There are always going to be red flags to watch out for, but it’s the same if you meet someone at the pub. If you’re not going to start lining up at the post office to pay your bills again, perhaps look at this the same way.”
Heidi said by the age of 40 and 50, a lot of life had been lived already, and people had to push their fears aside when dating again.
“While everyone is different, men often worry they’re not successful enough while women’s fears are based on being judged for how they look.
“When this happens, I generally ask them to look at their own values system, and would their best friend be judging them on those things? Do they look for those things in a potential partner? And often you’ll find the answer is no. They are looking for other traits.
“Of course, there are people out there that do care about status, money, or looks but I say to them that those people are not your people. Put a strike through those ones and hit ‘next’.”
To see more of Heidi’s great relationship, confidence-building, and dating advice, catch her on episodes 3, 5 and 7 of GemLife’s TV series, AGELESS on the NINE Network. Turn to pages 20 and 21 for air date details in April.