Yahoo Lifestyle An Inside Look at Dating’s Big Refresh, From Matchmaking Apps to Singles’ Run Clubs
In 2022, Jessica Evans decided she was fed up with dating apps.
“My mental health was taking a real hit from the marketplace type of dating. I didn’t like how toxic the dating app culture had got,” she said. “It was like human shopping and people are not products.”
More from WWD
Evans deleted all of her dating apps, determined to meet someone offline and “unashamedly, totally fall in love,” she said.
After discovering this was easier said than done, Evans started her own platform called Bored of Dating Apps, which hosts an array of events for singles to meet IRL.
“I decided to start something exclusively for the hopeless romantic who didn’t feel like they were cut out for dating apps,” Evans said, who said the events are often themed to attract daters based on their different interests — think supper clubs, yoga nights, casual drinks and more.
Three years later, Bored of Dating Apps has produced 16 engagements, a baby and lots of friendships.
Evans isn’t the only person struggling with the modern dating landscape who ultimately decided to start her own platform for meet-cutes. Now, with Valentine’s Day just around the corner and a slew of singles who are similarly fatigued with endless swiping, hookup culture and tiresome first dates, a proliferation of alternatives are starting to pop up.
“We’re in the thick of a period of time where people are frustrated with dating apps,” said Matt Lundquist, founder and clinical director of Tribeca Therapy. “People are saying, ‘Gosh, it seems like the same people, and it feels like I’m having the same experience over and over.’”
He added that with social media usage on the rise, many folks are also just sick of being on their phones. Moreover, many of the original apps, like Tinder and Hinge, are set up in a way that doesn’t necessarily promote users getting off the platform — think pricey monthly memberships and advertisements that benefit from long-term users.
Matchmaker Maria Agvitidis pointed to additional factors impacting daters today, including the loneliness epidemic, which has been driven by work-from-home, and political divides. For Agvitidis, combating all of these factors and refreshing the modern dating scene is all about going back to the centuries-old practice of matchmaking — she is a fourth-generation matchmaker who leverages technology to make the process more efficient.
Through her business Agape, daters can either join the site’s database in an effort to be matched with someone or join as a client working with a matchmaker. When joining as a client, users undergo a consultation and upon Agape finding a fit, they will be matched with someone. After each date, the client provides feedback and matches are further curated depending on this.
“In 2024 alone, we had three clients who are with their first or second match,” said Agvitidis, emphasizing that clients who able to share their specific values and goals for the future are most successful.
For those looking for a bit of Avgitidis’ matchmaking advice, her book “Ask a Matchmaker” will hit shelves in May.
Similar to Avgitidis, Nandini Mullaji is combining the tradition of matchmaking with technology via machine learning with her platform Sitch. Upon joining the app, which is by referral only, users engage in a 30-minute onboarding session that generates a profile complete with red flags, non-negotiables and “nice-to-haves.” Users can share as much information as they’d like and be as specific as possible. According to Mullaji, members are actually sharing more than expected. Some are sharing pages-long lists of what they’re looking for in a romantic partner that they have compiled over the years after a slew of bad dates.
“We’re not going to share this information. We’re just going to pre-select people who also share the same views,” she said.
Then, using AI and final human confirmation, the user will be matched with someone and introduced to them via a group chat with the matchmaker. (Once they start chatting the matchmaker leaves). After each date, the user can provide feedback so the matches get even better. The app costs $125 for five curated matches.
Others entrepreneurs are also trying to use the convenience of apps but with the goal of getting users offline as quickly as possible. For example, Breeze, while still an app, takes most of the swiping and all of the dreaded “talking phase” out of the equation.
“We wanted to go back to people meeting each other face to face,” said head of marketing Robin van der Kaa.
After a more extensive onboarding, users are provided between five and 15 matches daily that they can swipe through. If each user likes the other, they are brought to a date scheduling page where they can choose a date time at one of Breeze’s partner bars — the company has secured several throughout each city to ensure safety and convenience. Additionally, the couples aren’t able to chat until two hours before the date only for logistics purposes.
“Our profiles tend to be a little bit more extensive, a little bit more information, because when you match with someone, you have to go on a date right away, so people are more hesitant to swipe and swipe and swipe,” said van der Kaa.
On the flipside, Matchbox is looking to take everything offline and return fully to analog dating, similar to Bored of Dating Apps, with just a bit of technology. Matchbox hosts parties with one goal in mind: that everyone leave with a date.
“Dating apps are on the decline, and meeting people in person is in vogue,” said Matchbox founder Liam McGregor.
The platform started out in McGregor’s apartment as small weekly parties. Upon arriving, guests fill out a questionnaire that will pair them up with someone at the party who is a fit, though the match isn’t revealed until later on, allowing guests to mingle as they please.
“Everyone’s there to meet people. It’s not like going out on a normal night, because on a normal night, more than half the people you might meet are probably not single,” McGregor said. “We’ve seen people go home together. It’s crazy. People leave the event early with their match to go to the next place.”
The platform quickly went viral on TikTok, amassing 50 million views and now a 65,000 waiting list. McGregor said demand is so high that he’s are always recruiting new people to host the events.
While many of these platforms take a slightly broader approach to dating, some, like Lunge, have homed in on more specific interests. For Lunge, in particular, it’s all about fitness and running.
Lunge started out as a dating app that matches people based on where they work out — users can match only with people who work out at their gym or fitness studio or active people who are in the same area. Following the success of the app, Lunge chief executive officer Steven Cole founded a run club for singles to meet, as well. It currently hosts more than 1,000 runners weekly in New York City with plans to expand to other cities.
“[Cole] saw a market for a singles run club because run clubs are a great way to meet people, but nobody was marketing it as singles-specific,” said Rachael Lansing, the head of Lunge Run Club. “We created the first-ever singles-oriented run club. We put community first, and the running is secondary.”
Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
