To each their own I suppose, but I would be thankful if someone dismissed me as an option for those reasons. It saves me the investment of time and energy only to become disappointed later when I realize how shortsighted they are and how quickly they jump to conclusions.

I think she has other issues.

When I see “never married” on a profile, I wonder what the person is looking for. Have they had successful long term relationships? Do they want a casual relationship? If they want marriage, what changed so that it’s appealing now, or what prevented it before? A bit more information upfront would prevent people from assuming the person was just a player or had some serious issues.

One person's comment does not speak for the entire heterosexual female demographic.

I had a conversation on another site with a man who had never been married or been a parent (he was 61) who said that he expected any woman with whom he had a relationship to put him first -- she needed to stop putting her kids first. I should add that he had dogs that he expected to become a priority for any woman he dated. He was angry and offended when I told him that I thought that was an unrealistic expectation. My daughter is an adult, but she will always be my first priority. He told me he thought that was selfish. Needless to say we didn't communicate further.
That said, I have a friend in a great relationship with a man in his 50;s who had never had a relationship before because of his father's death and the need to assume the family business and take care of his mother. It was finally time that he could think of himself.
So I have opened my mind to more types of men. There are a lot of reasons for all sorts of status. Divorce I get -- I've been there -- and there is some bias on my part to find someone with a similar history to mine. But i'm more open minded than in the past.

She sounds like a complete, right wing, brainless imbecile. She comes from the place where parents wear their children like medals awarded by society.

When you said "her kids are grown up, out of the house." I thought I know exactly where she is coming from. You don't get to stop being a parent just because the kids have left home, doesn't work that way, at least not for women, they are still your kids and top of the priority list. If you don't get that then yes the cultural difference is huge.
Not married, wouldn't care less about, but never in a long term relationship would be a red flag for me, it says something about your priorities. Even if it turns into a train wreck a long term relationship has either taught you something about habitually considering the other person in your life and not finding that a burden, or it hasn't and that is why it was a train wreck.

Gee, wait until she found out you were Agnostic or Atheist. She has a preconceived notion that was based on having one message from you. That to me is a huge reason to let that one go. Or maybe that was just a good excuse to let you know she wasn't interested. Onward and Upward!

IMHO, don't think it is negative. To me it means you don't have baby mama drama. No child support and no alimony. All good things. It also means you might not understand my involvement with my kids, but I'm not going to assume the worst at the get go. I think you definitely dodged a bullet, that judgement was kinda harsh. It's not like you have inhabited another planet and you were a kid once and had parents. You know how those relationships work.

Ugh I hate dating sites. For some women breeding is their entire identy. I suspect she's one of them. Move on, and be glad she didn't want to meet you.

No right or wrong. Just her thing.

It really depends. My last boyfriend was never married and had no children. I found out fairly quickly why. He was a malignant narcissist with delusions of Godhood. He also believed the only right way was his way; everyone else was wrong. When I cooked, if it wasn't done the way his mother made it, he would complain and get the recipe. The last straw was when I realized that he never told me the truth in anything. His explanation....... I knew it would hurt you.

I'm not saying you are the same way as I don't know you, however other women may have been burned one to many times and are hesitant on having a relation with an older man that has never been married.

It wouldn't necessarily be a red flag for me. It could be a major bonus. No worrying about blending families, for starters. I would be curious, though, just as I would be curious about the divorce(s) and kid(s) of anyone I might date. Getting to know each other is always a good start. Sounds like she wasn't willing to do that, so I'm guessing you dodged a bullet, as others have said.

It speaks to her own limitations, and how narrow her world view is, rather than the mindset of women in general. I expect she would be shocked to hear that I don't have children, and never wanted any. Probably a very good thing she said this up front, rather than continuing before finding out. This is her problem, not yours.

It's not information that would immediately result in a disqualification as my potential future partner, but it would inspire some follow-up questions. There's a story there, I'm sure. I have a story about why I never had children of my own. I'd hate to be penalized before having an opportunity to expound.

She is a closed person and not worthy of you.

Nope. I'm also single and have never had kids.

When someone takes issue with any aspect of who you are as a reason not to move forward don’t fight it, they just shot a torpedo across your bow, wish them luck and say next.

It's B.S. You have to ignore it, mainly because you can't change it but more importantly because, if you've been dating forever you know that some women have all different kinds of rules: 1) You have to be divorced for a certain period of time before you're ready to date (how they can tell a total stranger when they are ready to date is beyond me) 2) If you don't have kids and never raised them you are not qualified to talk to or have any relationship with children (I'd love to know where this "science" comes from, just like anything else you've never done in your life, you can't possibly do it) 3) If you've never been married you must have commitment issues (impossible that you haven't met "the one" yet) 4) The ones who have read Men Are From Mars... or have gone to relationships classes and are following the script they learned (they dont' know how to have a relationship so they take this class, read the book etc and all of a sudden, "poof" they are experts, sadly if it's not spontaneous etc it doesn't work). You just have to be prepared to explain why it is youve never been married because it's normal for "her" to wonder what the catch is. As you would if you met a woman in a similar situation. Good luck. When my dating book comes out, I'll include your dilemma.

no. looks like you had a good feeel for what you want in life. It could be a red flag for others but I think a few conversations would clarify if that were an issue or not

Most people get married and have kids so one mtght wonder what it is about you that kept you from doing that. The fact that I've been married and divorced 4 times sometimes causes people to wonder why my marriages all failed. While it is true that I wasn't willing to stay in unhealthy marriages, finding the right partner can be largely a matter of chance.

I think she may have been too close minded. Cultural differences? I think of that as one person having grown up entirely different, like a different country.

Personally I would be interested to know how or why you were never married and didn’t have kids. Curious but not judgy. I pretty much did was expected of me so I admire someone who is strong enough to do what is right for them

I never married and I don't have kids because I decided to do some serious and not-so-serious dating, finish college, get a career, and buy a house instead of marrying the first person I seriously dated, pop out a few kids, go through a messy divorce, and wind up at the same spot I am now but with a lot more baggage and resentment

Seems like I dodged a bullet

It's a red flag for me. When I see never been married and has no kids in a dating profile it usually suggests they can't commit and do not understand the commitment it takes to raise children. I've tried to date men who have not been married and who have no kids. The one who hasn't had kids often seems to feel that I spend too much time with children and give them to much attention. Ummmm... They're kids... They need their parents time and attention.

The older you get without being partnered at some point, the bigger the red flags....