Ask a Matchmaker

This week, we're opening up the hotline with some extra support to help with your questions! Joining Maria this week to help you with your online dating problems is Agape Match's Online Dating Manager, Erika Ettin. Topics and questions discussed this week include… How do you decide to go on another date with someone that you're not totally into? What's the line between people not really communicating and me not wasting my time? It can be extremely dating to be extroverted with people that are not friends or family. It feels like I am bringing all the energy to the conversations and dates. Should I still talk to other people when I'm going on dates with people? An update on a previous caller who moved to another city! Being empowered to communicate your communication needs. I keep finding men that just want something casual. How do I express what I'm really looking for? I'm suffering from app fatigue. It's becoming too much to juggle between different apps. I found out I can't have kids. How do I tell the guy that I'm seeing? Erika Ettin is an online dating expert and dating coach who helps people navigate the world of online dating. Her expertise includes profile creation, photo selection and photography, message writing, and date planning. She is also the author of the book Love at First Site: Tips & Tales for Online Dating Success from a Modern-Day Matchmaker and the co-host of the popular dating podcast "So, We Met Online…" Find Erika on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ALittleNudge/ Our next Online Dating Tech Support is Monday May 9th at 12PM ET. To register, go to https://agapematch.wufoo.com/forms/z1s18kn10qpwm8f/ To book a Dating Strategy call with a member of the Agape Match team to discuss your dating goals, click here: https://calendly.com/felix-louie/ie-info-30-minute-call Follow Agape Match on Instagram at http://instagram.com/agapematch Follow the podcast on Instagram at http://instagram.com/askamatchmaker

This week, Maria is getting real about body image and dating with Dr. Lindsay Kite! Dr. Lindsay Kite is co-author of the book More Than a Body: Your Body Is an Instrument, Not an Ornament (2020, HarperCollins) and co-director of the nonprofit Beauty Redefined, alongside her identical twin sister Lexie Kite. Both received PhDs from the University of Utah in the study of female body image and have become leading experts in body image resilience and media literacy. Lindsay and Lexie help girls and women recognize and reject the harmful effects of objectification in their lives through their social media activism, online course, and regular speaking engagements for people of all ages. Lindsay lives in New York City.Visit Dr. Kite's website at https://www.morethanabody.org/ Pick up Dr. Kite's book, More Than a Body, at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Follow Dr. Kite on Instagram at http://instagram.com/beauty_redefined If you'd like to receive a Dating Assessment with Agape Match's Louie Felix, use the link to book a time/day that is most convenient for you. https://calendly.com/felix-louie/dating-assessment Follow Agape Match on Instagram at http://instagram.com/agapematch Follow the podcast on Instagram at http://instagram.com/askamatchmaker

This week, Maria is here to answer your questions on another edition of the Ask a Matchmaker Hotline! If you want to talk to Maria on an upcoming hotline episode, be sure to follow her on Instagram to know when the hotline will be open again. http://instagram.com/matchmakermaria On this week's episode, Maria digs into… Can you go from being a friend with benefits with someone to dating them? My next date with him is at his house to watch sports and I'm not a sports fan. What should I do? How do you talk to a potential dating partner about their values? How am I supposed to take it when people take days to respond to messages on dating apps? The way he's been communicating has changed. I'm so confused. I'm a single mom. What's the balance between keeping dates fun and sharing about my life? If you'd like to receive a Dating Assessment with Agape Match's Louie Felix, use the link to book a time/day that is most convenient for you. https://calendly.com/felix-louie/dating-assessment Follow Agape Match on Instagram at http://instagram.com/agapematch Follow the podcast on Instagram at http://instagram.com/askamatchmaker

This week, Maria is talking all about fertility with experts Leyla Bilali and Elizabeth Lipov! She asks many of the questions you might have had about the process, no matter where you are in your dating life. Leyla founded her fertility consulting & nursing services business, Fertility Together, to bridge the gap between clinic & patient, between fertility treatment & personalized care. She believes that a nurturing, knowledgeable partner can make all the difference in each individual's unique path to fertility - whether they're just curious about where they stand & what their options are, freezing their eggs or going all the way with IVF. Leyla provides personalization, continuity of care, proper education & endless encouragement. Elizabeth Lipov has worked as a healthcare tech status that services fertility patients across the country. She worked at a large fertility clinic in NYC for over four years as an IVF (in-vitro fertilization) coordinator. She worked with couples, single women and oncology patients who were preserving their fertility prior to treatment start. Follow Leyla on Instagram http://instagram.com/fertilitytogether Learn more about Leyla at http://fertilitytogether.com Follow Liza on Instagram at http://instagram.com/lizlip23 and http://instagram.com/thefoodiepiece To learn when Maria will open up the next Ask a Matchmaker Hotline, follow her at http://instagram.com/matchmakermaria Follow Agape Match on Instagram at http://instagram.com/agapematch Follow the podcast on Instagram at http://instagram.com/askamatchmaker

This week on the hotline, you're getting not one, but TWO matchmakers to answer your questions! Joining Maria on this week's episode is her work husband, the Chief Operating Officer and Matchmaker at Agape Match, Louie Felix! Louie Felix is matchmaking industry leader. His corporate startup and acquisition background brought him to the forefront of the relationship industry when he was contracted for the acquisition for a high end Beverly Hills-based matchmaking company. From there, he went on to serve as the CEO of two of the country's largest matchmaking companies, as well as simultaneously acquiring and running the largest dating company in California. With these ventures, Louie has been responsible for the successful matchmaking efforts of more than 50,000 clients worldwide. Sign up for a Dating Assessment with Louis at https://calendly.com/felix-louie/dating-assessment Find Louie on Instagramhttp://instagram.com/louiefelix To be on an upcoming episode to ask a question, make sure to follow Maria on insta to know when the hotline will be open next! http://instagram.com/matchmakermaria

When it comes to modern relationships, our thumbs do the talking. We swipe right into a stranger's life, flirt inside text bubbles, spill our hearts onto the screen, and use emojis to convey desire, frustration, and rage. Where once we pored over love letters, now we obsess over response times, or wonder why the three-dot ellipsis came. . . and went. Nobody knows this better than our guest this week, Dr. Mimi Winsberg. A Harvard- and Stanford-trained psychiatrist who cofounded a behavioral health startup while serving as resident psychiatrist at Facebook HQ, her work frequently finds her at the intersection of Big Data and Big Dating. Like all of us, Winsberg has been handed many a smartphone accompanied by the urgent plea: "What does this mean?" Unlike all of us, she knows the answer. She is a text whisperer. Pick up her new book, Speaking in Thumbs, at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09J7M5X2P/ Learn more about Dr. WInsberg at https://www.drwinsberg.com/ To learn when Maria will open up the next Ask a Matchmaker Hotline, follow her at http://instagram.com/matchmakermaria Follow Agape Match on Instagram at http://instagram.com/agapematch Follow the podcast on Instagram at http://instagram.com/askamatchmaker

You've got questions? Maria has the answers! Every week, we open up the Ask a Matchmaker Hotline where YOU call in with any questions you have for Maria… dating, love, life, style…she's here to help with it all. To be on an upcoming episode to ask a question, make sure to follow Maria on insta to know when the hotline will be open next! http://instagram.com/matchmakermaria

This week, Maria is talking to author Cate Doty! Cate Doty is the author of "Mergers and Acquisitions: Or, Everything I Know About Love I Learned on the Wedding Pages." She is a writer and former editor at The New York Times, where she covered the news of food, weddings, business, New York, and more. Her work has appeared in the Times, Southern Living, Our State, and other publications. Buy Cate's new book at https://amzn.to/3MbPq5j Follow Cate on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/catedoty To learn when Maria will open up the next Ask a Matchmaker Hotline, follow her at http://instagram.com/matchmakermaria Follow Agape Match on Instagram at http://instagram.com/agapematch Follow the podcast on Instagram at http://instagram.com/askamatchmaker

Hey-- Maria here. I have but a few platforms, and I'm going to utilize them when it comes to getting unheard stories out, even if it's not "dating and relationship" oriented. I run a dating company and the people in this episode help me spread love. Now I want to spread awareness to the humanitarian crisis unfolding. In this episode, you'll hear an unedited version of events that our tech team experienced and continues to experience in the current conflict in Ukraine, including Arthur's first hand account of crossing the border and Tim's communication with the rest of the team in Central Ukraine. Since recording, the team in Central Ukraine has found themselves in more danger and are now hiding underground. Some resources I have found helpful: Why is this happening? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-daily/id1200361736?i=1000551987275 How you can help: https://www.lphr.org/en/ukraine-hilfe/ Donate here for emergency humanitarian aid: https://www.lphr.org/en/humanitaere-soforthilfe-fuer-die-ukraine/ Follow Maria on Instagram to get updates from the team: http://instagram.com/matchmkermaria

This week, we're opening up the hotline again BUT we've brought in extra support to help! Joining Maria this week to help you with your online dating problems is Agape Match's Online Dating Manager, Erika Ettin. Erika Ettin is an online dating expert and dating coach who helps people navigate the world of online dating. Her expertise includes profile creation, photo selection and photography, message writing, and date planning. She is also the author of the book Love at First Site: Tips & Tales for Online Dating Success from a Modern-Day Matchmaker and the co-host of the popular dating podcast "So, We Met Online…" Our next Online Dating Tech Support is on March 10th at 9PM ET. To register and receive a link to join visit: https://agapematch.wufoo.com/forms/z1s18kn10qpwm8f/ Find Erika on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ALittleNudge/ To learn when Maria will open up the next Ask a Matchmaker Hotline, follow her at http://instagram.com/matchmakermaria Follow Agape Match on Instagram at http://instagram.com/agapematch Follow the podcast on Instagram at http://instagram.com/askamatchmaker