I sat down with two professional matchmakers to solve Gen Z’s dating fatigue
Like most Gen Zers in their mid-twenties, I’ve given up on dating multiple times. Even when I’m sprawled out on a cosy sofa with friends, wine in one hand and phone in the other, trying to stop one another from swiping into the worst decisions of our lives, the experience can still feel joyless, isolating, and mentally draining.
At some point, one always wonders what they’re actually looking for—and whether they’ll ever be able to find it… This is where professional matchmakers come in. I’m talking about legitimate expert individuals who promise that they can save us from dating app burnout and inject some fresh hope and optimism back into our love lives.
Shows like the Netflix smash hit Indian Matchmaking or new movies like The Materialists are shining a new light on this obscure but fascinating profession, prompting us at SCREENSHOT to hunt down interviews with the brains behind two of London’s most sought-after matchmaking services.
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So, does matchmaking make the hunt for love even more superficial as The Materialists seems to suggest? Or is it the missing puzzle piece we’ve been too cynical (or too chronically online) to notice? You’re about to find out.
“ So one client once asked us to find them someone who looked exactly like a specific celebrity. Another one wanted someone who had never used a dating app ever, which in today’s world is like finding a unicorn,” dating expert Lara Besbrode recalled, when I asked her about the more bizarre requests her agency The Matchmaker receives.
Initially drawn to the beauty of facilitating meaningful connections between people, Bresbrode has been in the matchmaking game for many years now. Her service fees range from a couple of hundred pounds for consultations and relationship coaching to up to £25,000 for the complete luxury matchmaking experience.
“I think the most surprising requests are the deeply personal ones, like matching someone who’s never been in love at 40 and wanted their first real connection. That’s when you realise that people aren’t just looking for dates, they’re looking for transformation, and that’s really powerful,” she continued.
I asked Siobhan Copland, founder and matchmaker at Cupid In The City the same question. Her dating agency operates at the middle point of the price spectrum. “I’ve noticed that the more money you charge [as a matchmaker], the more ridiculous the requests get,” she started.
“That’s actually part of the reason I don’t want to go fully into the super high-end matchmaking world. I just can’t deal with all the pretentiousness—I’m way too direct and down to earth for that,” she joked. “This one guy tried to take me to court. I remember getting the letter—he was demanding a refund because, in his words, the women weren’t ‘hot enough’.”
Yet, despite some odd requests, ranging from seven-figure salaries to unreasonable levels of attractiveness, Copland wasn’t cynical about the matchmaking game at all. Instead, these demands revealed to her how much it was needed.
“I tried to set someone up and told her he runs a startup in the leisure industry. But she found him on LinkedIn, saw that his title was ‘General Manager,’ and immediately dismissed him. She said, ‘I don’t think he’s at the right level career-wise,’ but that’s not true. He’s aiming to sell the business in the eight-figure range within the next five years. But on an app, someone sees ‘general manager’ and makes a snap judgment without knowing any of the context—his ambition, background, or bigger goals,” Copeland explained.
“That’s one of the biggest flaws with dating apps: they don’t give people a second chance. It’s swipe left or right, and that’s it. There’s no prompt that says, ‘Hey, are you sure? Here’s why this person might be a great match’. In my role, I often ask clients to give someone a second thought. Even if they don’t say yes right away, I present a strong case for why they should. The person might not be their usual ‘type’ on an app, but that doesn’t mean they’re not a good match,” she continued. “You don’t really know someone until you have a conversation and start connecting.”
Besbrode had similar thoughts on navigating the superficiality of the modern dating landscape and how this will be represented on screen: “ Dating in 2025 is part romance and part branding exercise from filtered selfies to lifestyle flexing on Instagram,” Besbrode contemplated.
“ We’re all performing versions of ourselves while trying to make genuine connections. So I think [The Materialists] will hold up a mirror to that reality, and that’s powerful. Especially for a generation that grew up online and is now navigating love in an age of hyper-curation.”
Bresbrode specifically has accomplished some impressive feats to score her clients the perfect match, such as sourcing a billionaire for one of them or recruiting a match in Australia for another.
“ What I don’t want to see is the stereotype that matchmaking is some dusty old school service for people who’ve failed at love. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Some of the most dynamic, successful and emotionally intelligent people come to us. To work with us because they’re done wasting time on bad dates and shallow swipes. So matchmaking is no longer your grandma’s game. It’s about strategy, insight, and real human connection. And we are not replacing dating, we’re upgrading it,” the matchmaker stated.
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So, do Gen Zers need a matchmaker? Considering that it is primarily a service for high-network individuals willing to look at the expense as an investment, maybe it’s not for all of them.
However, Gen Zers who do have a bit of disposable income—and the openness to surrender themselves to the process—might be surprised by how quickly they can fall in love through it… Or at the very least, fall for the idea of love again.
