Most research on the period following divorce focuses on repartnering. This paper, which uses data from the 2001 ANRS-KABP AIDS survey, looks into a phase prior to repartnering: the pursuit of sexual and dating relationships. Among the persons aged 25 to 54 who had experienced a conjugal separation in the previous five years, four in five had had at least one new sexual partner who, in half of all cases, was already in a relationship with someone else. Men find a first new partner, followed by a second, more quickly than women. Moreover, women over 35 find a new partner less quickly and less often than women under 35. The duration of the previous partnership thus appears to be a handicap for women, while this is not the case for men.