Yeah, I was wondering about a possible Alzheimer's connection as well, but dismissed it for the same reasons you did.
I'm going with the overpowering desire to find a mate as the clock runs out. Some senior women have learned life lessons and are on their guard, but I believe there is a significant demographic of those who are willing to do just about anything and pay any price to find what they're looking for.
When I was in my early 20's in NYC and attending college I needed moolah, and the opportunity came along to join an escort agency. Basically I escorted older women around NY, showing them the sites, having dinner and going dancing, serving as a bodyguard while they shopped at the higher-end stores, etc.
No "ten-cents-a-dance" jokes, please.
But what I learned was that many women were more than willing to pay outrageous fees just for companionship of the non-sexual kind. Whether they had never been with a guy in their lives, or had had some bad experiences, or they just felt ignored as hubby attended his business meetings, they were reaching out for the human qualities of compassion and companionship.
The prices were steep - not as bad as the ladies Dr. Phil interviewed, but still enough to give most pause - and surprisingly they were not all rich. Many were just your regular-everyday-middle-class types who had scrimped and saved for their big NY adventure.
Just as lonely guys will drop $100 bills on an exotic dancer in the hopes of buying her attention, lonely women will do the equivalent with online suitors.
Sad, but true.
