It’s not only Beyoncé singing the praises of single ladies, as 106-year-old Madeline Dye has revealed her secret to long life is a complete lack of men. 

Although scientists have said marriage can improve your likelihood of surviving health scares, Madeline thinks that committing to men brings too much stress, and Madeline is not about that life. 

Dye, who celebrated her birthday on 28 April, says she has never had a boyfriend, and has only been on one date – a visit to a pub on her 90th birthday.

The Sheffield-born centenarian was born in 1912 (the same year the Titanic sunk) and worked as a bookbinder for her whole life. 

Living at home until the grand age of 103, Madeline only moved into a care home in 2012 when her nursing needs increased.

But that hasn’t stopped her being active. Her niece Diana Heaton, 80, says: “She walks freely without a stick and is very independent.”

“When she was 103 she asked if I could change some curtains for her. I said I would do it the next day and when I arrived she said ‘do you like the curtains – look what I’ve done?’. She had changed them and carried some steps from the cellar up the stairs to her front bedroom.”

As for having a man in her life, Heaton says: “Whenever anyone asks her about her past romances or if she has a husband, she says ‘I’ve never had one, that’s why I’m this age’.

“She says she has not had the stresses of marriage, it’s tongue-in-cheek more than anything. She has a great sense of humour still, she has never lost it.”

Aside from the lack of male company, Madeline’s long life may also be down to walking two miles up a steep hill four times a day while going from and to work.

Her father Ernest died in the First World War when she was a girl, and she lived for most of her life with her mother Mary and sister Auralie, never marrying or having any children.

Her favourite meal is steak and chops with dipping, and her hobbies including knitting and gardening.