Online Dating Popular with People of All Ages - ABC 33/40 News

Jimmy and Tonya Grayson walked, or should we say typed, their way into each others lives at a time when they least expected.

"I saw her picture on there and she caught my eye so I sent her an email and she replied. And the rest is history,"said Jimmy Grayson.

The site was blackpeoplemeet.com. But it was almost the love story that never happened. Tonya had just logged onto the site to clean out her emails when she decided to open the one from Jimmy

"It was a friendly 'hey how you doing. I'd like to get to know you kind of thing," she said.

From there, the correspondence began, and a relationship blossomed. Tonya, 42, and Jimmy, age 49, knew they would face skepticism for meeting through a dating site at, especially at their age. But for them it didn't matter.

"We just decided that we would talk honestly and openly with each other and get to know each other that way," said Jimmy.

UAB sociology professor, Sheila Cotten, says Jimmy and Tonya are not alone. An increasing number of adults are realizing the benefits of online dating, and that it's not just for the millennial generation.

"We're starting to see that online dating is a lot more popular than it was a decade or even two decades ago," said Cotten.

People age 35 and older are increasingly using social networking and dating sites. In fact, on many online dating sites, as much as 25 percent of their subscribers are over age 50.

Cotten says the reasons are quite practical.

"People are working longer hours, more jobs, especially in this down economy. And so they're having to resort to alternative means," said Cotten.

But the Graysons say when it comes to their relationship, practicality is secondary. To them it was divine intervention. A union orchestrated by God.

"Understanding that, it even meant online dating on those places even though I was not looking per say. But God was raising up a man two hours away from me and preparing him for me," said Tonya.

Jimmy and Tonya will soon celebrated their first marriage anniversary and they have God and blackpeoplemeet.com to thank.