> I used to be rather successful with women, was never single, always could find someone easily. I'm 45, in good shape with a good job, but it has became much harder.
You're also most likely much more selective. In your 20's and 30's, there's no feeling of a clock ticking.
Yeah, as weird as it sounds, my wife and I are probably together now 14 years after we met because we had relatively low standards in our early 20s. Obviously you should have some baselines for fundamental character traits when considering a long-term partner, but we were both well-intentioned-but-half-developed at 21. If either one of us had been in a position to look down on our relatively lackluster lifestyles at that point, we probably wouldn't be happily married today.
I guess my point is prioritize fundamental character (honesty, communication, loyalty, values, etc), and someone you can have fun with. The rest can be taken care of with time and effort.
You're also most likely much more selective. In your 20's and 30's, there's no feeling of a clock ticking.