Cynthia Bailey fears that she is getting too old to find love again.
In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, the Real Housewives of Atlanta star revealed that she feels too pressured to get back into the dating game following her second divorce from Mike Hill.
Bailey, 56, was initially married to restauranteur Peter Thomas from 2010 to 2017 and then found love in the arms of sportscaster Mike Hill, but after tying the knot in 2020, the couple separated in 2022.
Now, Ms. Bailey is excited about the next chapter and has thrown herself back into the dating scene because she “doesn’t have a lot of time” – but hopes that “the third time is a charm.”
Cynthia Bailey Doesn’t Want To Hot Summer Girl At 60
“Well, for me, I definitely didn’t want to rush into anything. I definitely wanted to take the time to just really just sit with my divorce and new singleness and just be ready to start dating,” the TV star told the news outlet.
“But the problem is, I’m 56, so I don’t have a lot of time. I can’t sit around for a couple of years and have a hot girl summer at 60…I guess I could, but that wouldn’t be my preference,” she continued.
Elaborating further, Bailey revealed she felt disconnected, as with any breakup or divorce, and went through the breakup process before she actually broke up with her ex.
“…a lot of time, you start disconnecting and going through the breakup process before you actually break up. And that’s kind of what happened with me.”
“So, by the time it actually happened, I was kind of like, “Okay, let me not miss my person by not allowing myself to get back out there because of time,” she added.
After Two Marriages And Divorces, Bailey Now Knows What She Wants
Bailey put herself back in the game and even found some pretty cool matches on a dating app.
“I’ve been on some really cool dates, and I’ve met some really cool people. I’m not in anything serious yet, but I like a couple of people. They have my interests for sure,” she told DailyMail.com.
The reality TV personality, whose partner of choice is someone over 40, hopes the third time’s the charm, but she also doesn’t want to jump in until she’s 100% sure.
“I think one of the great things, if there’s a positive of going through two marriages and two divorces, is not only knowing what you want [but] knowing what I don’t want.”
“And again, being a woman of a certain age, I kind of have my deal breakers now, and I only want to go into it if I really feel strongly that we have a very healthy shot at making this thing work,” she added.
Unlike The Youngins, Bailey Believes In Seeing What You’re Working With
Bailey believes that the key to a long-lasting relationship is consistency, you shouldn’t just “come in strong and then you fall off” the face of the world. That doesn’t work.
“The younger dating world is different. They don’t really talk on the phone. It’s a lot of texting, not a lot of conversation and phone conversation. I’m old school, you have to actually get on the phone with me, and then we’re Face Timing. I need to see what we’re working with.”
“For me, if you’re interested, I need you to really just show up out the gate, really show that you’re interested, and then be consistent,” she added.
“If you come in strong and then you fall off, then that doesn’t work. You can’t start off calling me a couple of times a day, and then I hear from you a couple of times a week.”
She Can’t Wait To Travel With Her New-Found Partner
Ms. Bailey, whose 23-year-old daughter, Noelle Robinson, is the apple of her eye, hopes to find a partner she can travel with to her dream destination – the Maldives.
“The Maldives is one of the top places on my list, but it’s just one of those places that I refuse to go,” she informed the news outlet.
“First of all, I don’t want to go with girlfriends. It’s just too beautiful and quiet and sexy. I want to go with a man that I want to be with, and that wants to be with me.”
So, when she meets the man of her dreams, that’s the first place they’ll be going.
“…there’s nothing to do when you get there except just relax and enjoy the person you’re with. So that is my dream place to go. When I do meet my person, that’s the first place we’re going. He has to take me to the Maldives,” Bailey added.
So, I’m just going to go ahead and put that out there.”
And What Ms. Bailey Thinks About RHOA Now…
Cynthia Bailey built a loyal fanbase throughout her 11 years on The Real Housewives of Atlanta. So when DailyMail.com asked her what she thinks looking back at the show, the For Love or Money actress said:
“I definitely don’t miss the drama. It feels good to just be drama free and just stress-free.”
“The show’s an amazing show, but it does come with a little bit of stress, especially when it’s just a drama-based show at the end of the day. But I do miss the ladies,” she added.
She still hangs out with most of them, though. And in the process, she has found out who her real friends are.
“I have great organic relationships with a lot of the ladies that are still on the show, so I do miss seeing them on a regular basis. I saw them more when I was on the show than I see them now. But I do get to hang out with a lot of them, so that’s cool,” Bailey continued.
“That was really telling because I was like, ‘I’ll find out who my real friends are when I leave the show,” because if they still hang out with me outside of the show, that means they were really my girls in the first place…,” she added.
“One of the great things about being a Housewife you are kind of in that club, and it’s like a sisterhood that is forever for me. I always am just very it just happy to still be a part of that.”
We wish Cynthia Bailey all the best and pray she finds someone to explore the Maldives with!
