Summer reissue: Alie Benge signed up to a dating app with a sense of dread. What she found restored her faith in people – and in love itself, she writes, in the first instalment of a new series following her dating journey. First published August 29, 2020. I went into the first lockdown a hardcore … Read more
In the latest instalment of her column about her adventures in online dating, Alie Benge makes a real connection – and wonders why she can’t shake the need for romantic love. A friend told me I seem happy again. “It’s nice to have happy Alie back,” he said. “It’s been a while.” It made me … Read more
In the latest in our series chronicling the ins and outs of dating in 2020, Alie Benge explains her reliance on the ‘friend committee’ to judge the suitability of every love interest. Abby came to my desk in a panic. She was meeting Sia that weekend. For the first time, she’d be going on a … Read more
It might be the most bonkers reality show of all, but The Farmer Wants a Wife is back for 2020. Tara Ward recaps the first episode. “It all begins with hope,” host Natalie Gruzlewski tells us in the opening moments of The Farmer Wants a Wife, and friends, I did not expect this show to … Read more
In the second of our series on Alie Benge’s dating journey, she ponders if that intangible, unpredictable thing that is spark is really as crucial as she’d always believed it to be. I usually leave dates feeling buzzed from the interaction, regardless of how well it went. A few weeks ago, for the first time, … Read more
Alie Benge signed up to a dating app with a sense of dread. What she found restored her faith in people – and in love itself, she writes, in the first instalment of a new series following her dating journey. I went into the first lockdown a hardcore introvert, one of those annoying people talking … Read more
Tinder became the world’s most popular dating app by promising serendipitous connections with online strangers. But there’s nothing random about the way it works, explains Matt Bartlett. While most leisure activities were throttled by the Covid lockdown, others thrived – just ask any of your friends who did Yoga With Adrienne. Another unlikely winner? Dating … Read more
Imagine Love Island without… the touching? Netflix’s new reality show Too Hot to Handle hits a little bit close to our distanced homes, writes Sam Brooks. When it starts, Too Hot to Handle seems like another escapist log on the reality show pyre, upon which many an attractive, abominably-blessed human has been set alight. Waves … Read more
Justin McLeod invented the dating app Hinge twice: once for smartphones, and once more for romantics. He talks about why being open to change is the best path to true love. Six years ago, the online dating service Hinge threw all its money into a launch party before its app was even approved by the … Read more
Terrace House is so real that it can’t be anything but fake. Uther Dean writes about what makes the Japanese Netflix dating reality show so addictive. Do you know what a parasocial relationship is? Because I promise that you’re in heaps of them. Parasocial relationships are the ones that occur between you and the people … Read more
Almost universally, men’s online dating user descriptions are terrible. Madeleine Holden recently launched a modest enterprise to help. A little over a month ago, I launched my latest, semi-serious side hustle: for the princely sum of $25, I will draft men’s Tinder or Bumble bios for them. Soon after I dashed off the tweet that … Read more
Undercover Assholes wreck your self-esteem in some way, shape or form. But they’re also hard to spot, so how do you uncover one? Lauren Meredith gives her tips on how to look past their masterful disguise. You know how it goes. You meet someone. They seem awesome. They’re funny, nice and sweet. Maybe you want … Read more
Because dating isn’t already horrible enough, an app named Attractive World recently launched in New Zealand aiming to make it worse. Current members decide whether prospective members are hot enough to be allowed in. Lucy Zee went undercover to see if it was as shitty as it looked. First published on August 22, 2017. Last … Read more
Every week we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Elliot Riley, Jess Smith and James McCann, founders of Rendezvous, a dating app that lets you avoid the awkward online pre-chat and cuts straight to the chase. ONE: How did Rendezvous start and what was your … Read more
It’s damn hard to date when you have young children. Sarah Bichan asked all of the brilliant and amazing mums she knows to share their best tips for romantic nights in. Since the birth of our dear, sweet child, my lovely husband and I had kept up the pretense of date nights but, really, they … Read more
Because dating isn’t already horrible enough, an app named Attractive World recently launched in New Zealand aiming to make it worse. Current members decide whether prospective members are hot enough to be allowed in. Lucy Zee went undercover to see if it was as shitty as it looked. Last month, Attractive World was launched in … Read more
Sam Brooks takes the plunge and reviews the dating sim that not only lets you play as a dad, but lets you date other dads. “Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator is a game where you play as a Dad and your goal is to meet and romance other hot Dads. Are you ready? Hi … Read more
Last week The Legends Academy’s Ben Alexander was back in Auckland to hold one of his regular workshops on ‘modern dating skills’ for men. The Academy claims to reject the blatant misogyny of the old-style PUA culture, but what does it offer men instead? Branko Marcetic joined the audience to find out. If our Google … Read more
In this week’s advice column, psychotherapist Ms X counsels a woman struggling to adjust to life as her ex’s straight sidekick. Hi Ms. X, I’m a woman in my 20s and a few months ago my boyfriend, who I’ll call Oscar (after one of my all-time favorite homosexuals) broke up with me with this banger: … Read more
This week, a special reader’s response on dealing with dating bullshit, and Ms X annotates a genuine Tinder conversation that quickly goes south. Hello Callers, Last week we ran a poignant letter from ‘Yoko Boleyn’ who has been having issues with a young man who seems unable to GTFU (Grow the Fuck Up – itʼs … Read more
In this week’s advice column, Ms. X counsels a daughter who is flipping out over her mother’s search for online romance. Dear Ms. X, My mum is 62 and looking to date. I want to be good about this but I AM NOT. I think she is going to meet all kinds of idiots and … Read more