"You're talking to someone who has been married to various people for the last 40 years of her life. Dating is not really something familiar. I've never really been a dater"

In this quote, Stockard Channing provides a candid reflection on her individual experiences with relationships and dating, drawing a line in between her long-term dedications and casual dating. By stating, "You're speaking to someone who has been married to various people for the last 40 years of her life", Channing highlights a life marked by significant, sustained partnerships, recommending a preference or propensity towards long-lasting, potentially serial marriages rather than short-term relationships or casual dating.

The expression "married to various people" implies that Channing has actually experienced numerous marital relationships. This choice of words suggests a journey through a spectrum of relationships over numerous decades, each marriage possibly offering lessons and insights into collaboration dynamics, while simultaneously strengthening a convenience or predisposition towards the formal, committed aspect of human connection. The breadth of these experiences may show an understanding of friendship's developing nature through different phases of life.

Channing's assertion that "Dating is not actually something familiar" indicates a substantial level of strangeness-- or perhaps pain-- with the standard dating scene. This might indicate that her early relationships progressed rapidly into marital relationship or that cultural or individual reasons led her to focus on long-term commitment over casual dating. The expression "I've never ever really been a dater" serves to further highlight this point, suggesting a lack of experience or interest in the kind of exploratory, frequently transient connections that dating requires.

Her viewpoint provides an intriguing contrast to contemporary social standards where dating is often seen as an essential phase before marital relationship. It also prompts reflection on how people browse their own journeys of love and friendship, highlighting that there is no particular course to discovering significant connections. Channing's experience highlights the multiplicity of human relationship models and welcomes a wider understanding of how one might specify and pursue personal happiness and fulfillment in relationships.