The thing with the couple in your example is they paired up when they were young and aged together. That’s a far cry from waiting until middle age to start dating.
I’m not sure how to choose not to be superficial over this, and I have tried: gone to singles meetups where there were mainly older age groups present, divorcees probably. And while some of them seemed nice enough as people, as far as the sexual attraction side of it went, well there was none. And I couldn’t help feeling angry at some of these women, smiling, expecting me to come over and chat them up I guess. They have already had their lives – men having shown up for them for decades, but I’ve missed mine, and now I’m expected to turn up for them in their 40s and 50s, someone who they wouldn’t even have spoken to me when we were in our twenties. It’s ‘my turn’ and I should be grateful having finally been given a chance when we’re old and unable to have children.
I don't think it's a simple matter of bypass decades of psychological development and choosing to settle for something I don't want and can't even picture.