Julia | Toyboy Warehouse Ambassador

Julia, founder of Toyboy Warehouse, launched it in Jan 2007, at the age of 47 as what was on offer in the online dating world was, in her view, very lacking. At the time, if you were a woman past the big 40 all you could hope for on the mainstream sites were messages from men a decade older who thought you’d be eternally grateful to get any message at all. Julia, knew this didn’t reflect the real situation so she set up a fun, playful dating site for women and younger men, not knowing anything about the internet or the dating industry – she was an artist at the time.  It immediately took off and a media storm followed.

“I’ve never dated a man older than me,” says Julia. “It’s not because I object to it on principle. It’s just that I follow my attraction and it’s always lead me to younger men. I think a lot of it is about role models and when came down from Oxford at the age of 21 my mother, after two marriages that lasted 10 years each was living with a man my age, 30 years her junior. While all her friends were shocked, I saw that she was relaxed and happy and we all got on really well. He was like a brother to me and it was a very happy period. The men that I have dated have been anything from a year younger to 27 years younger. What I am looking for is a genuine connection and that is not limited by age.”