The actress, who's been married four times, is currently dating John Zambetti.
Jane Seymour is loving life at 72. In an essay for Cosmopolitan's "Sex After 60" digital issue, Seymour reveals why the sex she's having with boyfriend John Zambetti is better than any other intimacy she's experienced over her four marriages and several relationships.
"Sex right now is more wonderful and passionate than anything I ever remember because it is built on trust, love, and experience," Seymour writes. "I now know myself and my body, and John has had his own experiences in his life -- it's not like when you're younger... The older I get, the more sex is built on emotional intimacy, on having shared the ups and downs of life with someone -- our feelings, our joys, our sadness, our mutual passions, and desire."
"After 60, you come to realize that intimacy can also be self-serving," she adds. "... Sure, loving touch changes according to what abilities you have physically as you age, but it's certainly not something you give up just because you're a certain age. Your sex life doesn't need to end at 60. At the end of the day, everyone is looking for something that puts blood into a certain area. When you can figure that out, well, you're going to be a happy camper. (And bonus: You're not going to get pregnant, right?)"
The Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman star acknowledges that there's "a stigma" around sex and aging, and notes that while some people give up physically, mentally and emotionally as they get older, she writes that she's come to realize that "life can only get better when you are open-minded and you listen to your body and to yourself."
"The crazy thing is, right now, I feel like I'm both experienced and 16 years old," Seymour, who posed for Playboy when she was 67, writes. "I truly feel sex and intimacy is better at my age than it ever was before. I actually mean that. And it took being single after my marriages to learn that I don't have to disappear for sex and romance to click."
Seymour's revelations didn't come easily, but rather took a lot of reflection and work.
"After more than five decades of being coupled up -- in four marriages, a few long-term partnerships, and plenty of dates -- my last breakup sparked an epiphany: Whenever I was with someone, I'd vanish in the relationship," Seymour writes. "Dating someone was about 'having it all' -- the career, the blended family, the marriage -- not about romance and never, ever about me."
When she admitted that to herself, the former Bond girl came to realize that she was "the one running the show," and vowed to live with that in mind.
"After my last relationship ended, I was intent on being single and on my own," writes Seymour, who was previously married to Michael Attenborough, Geoffrey Planer, David Flynn, and James Keach, and ended a nine-year romance with David Green in 2023.
"I went to Greece and rented a small yacht on the South Ionian Sea. I went to Iceland and climbed glaciers," she recalls. "I wanted to have what I call 'experiential living' with my kids while I’m able-bodied, vibrant, and happy."
Amid that journey, Seymour and Zambetti, a rock guitarist, became acquainted via a chance encounter. They went Instagram official in October, with Seymour writing that she's "never been happier."
"When John and I first met, he was encountering me as someone who was happily alone, not eagerly looking. I was at my happiest, surrounded by friends and family," she writes. "... John was immediately exposed to who I really am. And so despite my active disinterest in romance at the time, he still appreciated me and the privilege it was to see my life. I let him be part of the gang."
"I never imagined until now that I could be unashamedly who I am without having to worry about what somebody else thinks -- especially at 72 when everyone's got baggage and sometimes the joints are not performing or my back is flaring or something mildly arthritic happens. But it's important to have a sense of humor about all of that too, because it's life," Seymour adds. "When people fit, they just fit. And when there is love and intimacy as well as a desire to find pleasure for your partner and pleasure for yourself and you can make that all happen in unison, it's magic. Absolute magic, no matter what form it takes."
Now, Seymour is determined to live her life for herself, writing, "I can't change what happened and I can't change other people, but I can change my choices and the way I look at it all. I can decide to show up as myself now in every moment."
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