“Abbott Elementary”'s Lisa Ann Walter Says She 'Let Go' of 1 'Fantasy' Dating in Her 60s (Exclusive)

The actress tells PEOPLE she considers herself a romantic following two divorces. "If the right person came along, I would absolutely be open to it," she says

Lisa Ann Walter doesn’t quite know what her next relationship might look like.

“It has been a challenge to find a long-lasting relationship in this town,” the Abbott Elementary star, 62, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “I don't know where he is going to come from. One of the things that changes I think as you get older is your concept that you can arrange what your life looks like. You let go of that fantasy.”

Walter divorced her first husband, Sam Braun, with whom she shares son Jordan, 36, and daughter Delia, 32, in 1999 after he came out as bisexual.

“The kids are different now, but that was sort of a deal breaker for me at that time,” the actress says. “But we're still great friends. He's stays with me two nights a week and we watch 90 Day Fiancé together.”

Related: Lisa Ann Walter Says Lindsay Lohan Should Guest Star on Abbott Elementary as Her Character's Relative

Her second marriage to the father of her 23-year-old twin sons Simon and Spencer ended less amicably.

“He cheated. It was not fun,” Walter says of her second husband. “That one really wrecked me and broke my heart and messes with your trust. I was quite depressed for a while. It takes a minute to bounce back from that and start eating carbs again. But I did.”

Still, Walter says she believes in love. “I'm a romantic,” she continues. “And if the right person came along, I would absolutely be open to it.”

But Walter doesn’t know if that means she’ll say “I do” again.

“There's all sorts of reasons people have a relationship but don't get married again,” the author of The Best Thing About My Ass Is That It's Behind Me says. “Younger women are like, ‘No, I'm fine with defining my relationship this way. I don't have to do it the way traditionally it's been done.’ It could look any way.”

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As for what she looks for in a relationship, Walter prioritizes intelligence over a sense of humor.

“He has to be smart enough to get my jokes,” the comedian says. “A lot of times women say, ‘They make me laugh,’ and I'm like, ‘I got that department.’“

Walter also likes a man who “challenges me,” she says. “I don't care if he's retired, but he has to have his own passion, the thing that he does that he loves. Other than that, does he like to eat my food? We're good.”

Related: Lisa Ann Walter Says Her Son Had No Feedback on Her 2024 Oscars Look: 'You Going Somewhere?' (Exclusive)

The SAG Award winner's future boyfriend also needs to love dogs, as Walter has a 12-year-old pup named Buster, the sibling of her Parent Trap costar and bestie Elaine Hendrix’s late dog Ellie.

“Ellie just passed from cancer, so I let Buster get away with anything now,” Walter explains. “He's such a good boy and for the first time ever, he's jumping on the bed to sleep with me. That was not allowed. He didn't even try. Now he jumps up there and I'm just like, ‘Yeah, you can jump still.’ “

Walter foresees that potentially being an issue should she ever welcome anyone into her bed. “I think about how it's going to be when I start trying to put somebody in my bed long-term now that the dog thinks it's OK to jump up on it,” she says. “I'm always going to pick the fella, don't get me wrong.”

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Abbott Elementary returns to ABC on Wednesday, April 10, at 9 p.m. ET.

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