Nia Long is not shy about the kind of energy she wants in her dating life, and that’s that young energy!

In a new Playboy interview, the 55-year-old actress said that she’s a “big fan” of dating younger men and that she loves it. “I think there’s something fun about younger,” Long said. And they also go home,” she joked. Long made it clear that while she is open to romance, she is doing it on her own terms. 

“I’m really picky,” she said as she’s not rushing into anything just to say she is dating. Instead, Long said, “I’m really focused on my kids, my work, and my girlfriends,” adding that she is enjoying time to herself and “getting to know myself” without feeling pressured to serve a relationship. She doesn’t even like the word “dating.” She said, “I feel like that requires me to go out and do something. I do think that if you’re looking for a partner, you have to be actively out there in order to meet,” she explained. “But I am not in that space right now.” 

Long did not present the comment like a major manifesto; instead, she made it sound like part of her larger commitment to ease, peace, and autonomy. “No one can interfere with my sanity. That’s number one,” she said. “I learned a long time ago that you cannot be successful in this industry if you listen to the noise and the distractions. And the one thing that I am very, very, very protective of is my peace. Because in order for me to do what I do, I have to commit to that first.”

Throughout the interview, she stressed that she values her freedom and that she is not trying to force herself into dating just for the sake of it. For Long, the attraction seems to be about choosing a vibe that keeps things light and easy.

The actress, who has spent more than three decades cementing herself as one of Hollywood’s most enduring (and crushworthy) stars, also reflected on her new role in the new movie “Michael,” being a public fantasy while staying rooted in real life as a mother, co-parent, and working woman. So when she talks about younger men, it gives the confidence of somebody who knows exactly what she wants and exactly what she does not.