Presumably it depends on the men having kids from a previous (or soon-to-be-previous) relationship, so if you’re one of those childless weirdos, you may need to make up a child, like in that Nick Hornby novel.
In my experience, having kids didn’t factor much into the conversations. Not having children was acceptable and in many circumstances beneficial. What did come up every single time was marriage status (single, married, divorced, widowed). The vibe I got was that the biggest red flag for a middle aged man was never had been married. I guess that paints the man as either selfish, a man-child, or both. In all, not positive.
Presumably it depends on the men having kids from a previous (or soon-to-be-previous) relationship, so if you’re one of those childless weirdos, you may need to make up a child, like in that Nick Hornby novel.
In my experience, having kids didn’t factor much into the conversations. Not having children was acceptable and in many circumstances beneficial. What did come up every single time was marriage status (single, married, divorced, widowed). The vibe I got was that the biggest red flag for a middle aged man was never had been married. I guess that paints the man as either selfish, a man-child, or both. In all, not positive.