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Match Survey Finds Singles Still Believe in Love

Posted on September 11, 2026
Match.com Singles in America

MASHABLE – Match’s 2026 Singles in America survey found that 76% of U.S. singles believe romantic love can last forever, although only 16% are actively seeking a committed relationship. Most prefer flexible relationship roles over traditional gender roles, despite increased exposure to “tradwife” content on social media. Financial compatibility is also important, with 89% saying couples should share financial decisions equally and 71% saying openness about money builds trust. Singles remain cautious about AI in dating, but attitudes are softening: 34% now consider AI-edited profile photos a dealbreaker, down from 44% last year. However, 66% believe AI cannot replace human connection.

See full article at Mashable

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Blackstone Prepares to Exit Bumble After Nearly Seven Years

Posted on September 11, 2026
Bumble logo

BUSINESS INSIDER – Blackstone is preparing to exit its remaining stake in Bumble after nearly seven years, despite the dating company’s shares falling 96% from their peak. Blackstone and Accel invested $2.1B in Bumble’s parent company in 2019 and ultimately recouped roughly twice that amount, largely by selling shares early. Blackstone recovered much of its investment around Bumble’s 2021 IPO and sold another $1B of shares later that year. Its remaining 22.4M shares are now worth just over $60M. Blackstone has been reducing its position through an agreement with UBS and could be fully out by early 2027. The exit comes as Bumble undergoes a turnaround, with paying users down 16.4% YoY in Q2 2026, while the company is also reportedly exploring a potential sale.

See full article at Business Insider

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Thursday Raises $1.5M and Launches 500-Investor Fundraising Push

Posted on September 11, 2026
Thursday logo

LINKEDIN – Thursday has raised $1.5M from existing backers, filling 76% of its current angel allocation. Co-founders George Rawlings and Matthew McNeill Love are now launching a “500 Calls in 50 Days” campaign, aiming to speak with 500 potential investors before closing the round. The meetings will include VCs, angels, founders, and family offices.

See full article at LinkedIn

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Matrimony.com Says Trust and Personalisation Drive Brand Growth

Posted on September 11, 2026
Logo of matrimony.com

PITCH – Matrimony.com CEO Murugavel Janakiraman says trust remains the key differentiator in online matchmaking, with ~80% of the company’s traffic coming organically. Matrimony.com receives close to 8M sign-ups annually, and Janakiraman says ~1M people find a life partner through the platform each year. The company operates ~ 300 matrimony sites targeting different communities and customer segments, alongside services including Elite Matrimony, Jodi and Rainbow Love. It also employs ~500 relationship managers for its Assisted Matchmaking service, combining algorithmic recommendations with human matchmaking.

See full article at Pitch

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Chapter 2 Dating Reaches Break-Even After Record Revenue

Posted on September 11, 2026
Logo for Chapter 2

PROLIFIC NORTH – Chapter 2 Dating has reached break-even for the first time, following three consecutive months of record revenue. Its three platforms, Chapter2Dating.app, WidowsFire.dating and SoberLove.app, now have ~20K members across the UK, US, Canada and Australia, with around half based in the US. Chapter 2 has raised £450K to date and has another £50K of EIS-approved investment available. The company acquired white-label dating platform M14 in September 2025, bringing its technology in-house. It is now planning further international expansion and developing a new AI product.

See full article at Prolific North

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Eric Strauss: How to Position Your Dating Business for Acquisition

Posted on September 10, 2026

LTR – In this conversation, Mark Brooks sits down with Eric Strauss, former Founder and CEO of Cupid.com and President of Transworld Business Brokers in Manhattan, to explore the realities of building a business with an eventual exit in mind.

Eric reflects on the sale of Cupid.com and Regional Help Wanted, before sharing lessons from his years helping entrepreneurs sell their companies. They discuss how to prepare a business for acquisition, why clean and transparent financials matter, how valuation and pricing affect the sales process, and why overpricing can actually make it harder to attract serious buyers.

The conversation also explores how buyers are identified, how a competitive process can help drive the best outcome, and why founders should start preparing for a sale long before they are ready to put their business on the market.

[**See the video here on YouTube**]

The February LTR was kindly sponsored by HubPeople, LeadThink and Courtland Brooks

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Greek-American Matchmaker Charges $5,000 a Month to Find Love in New York

Posted on September 9, 2026
the logo of Agapé Matchmaking

PROTOTHEMA – New York-based Agape Match, founded by Maria Avgitidis, takes a personalized approach to matchmaking. The agency builds detailed client profiles and may interview up to 30 people before arranging a first date. It works with no more than 15 active clients at a time and has a database of 30K+ candidates. Clients also receive dating coaching. Avgitidis says Agape Match has arranged ~7K first dates over 18 years. Services average ~$5K per month. She has also expanded into singles communities, dating retreats in Greece, the Ask a Matchmaker podcast, and a dating advice book.

See full article at ProtoThema

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Coffee Meets Bagel Launches in Australia

Posted on September 9, 2026
Coffee Meets Bagel ad

LBB ONLINE – Coffee Meets Bagel (CMB) has launched in Australia with its “Let’s Get Serious” campaign, targeting singles frustrated with low-effort dating, ghosting, and endless swiping. The campaign promotes CMB’s curated daily matches, Topic Suggestions, and Real Dates features.

See full article at LBB Online

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ATEAM Launches Dating App After Building 10,000-Person Waitlist 

Posted on September 9, 2026
Logo of ATEAM

INC – Wellness-focused dating and social platform ATEAM has launched its app after building a 10K+ person waitlist and hosting ~30 IRL events attended by 2K people. The $39.99/month membership connects people around shared health and wellness values for both romantic and platonic relationships. ATEAM has partnerships with SoulCycle and Lifetime Fitness and backing from a 35-person investor group, including former NFL player Dale Moss. After launching in New York, it plans to expand to Miami, West Palm Beach, Austin, Dallas, and Los Angeles.

See full article at INC

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Grindr to Pay £26M to Settle UK Data Privacy Lawsuit

Posted on September 8, 2026
Grindr logo

BBC – Grindr has agreed to pay £26M to settle a lawsuit alleging it shared users’ sensitive data, including HIV status, sexual orientation and ethnicity, with third parties. The case has more than 11,000 claimants and relates to data practices before 2020, when Grindr was owned by Chinese company Kunlun. Grindr will pay £13M by the end of 2026 and another £13M by March 2027. Grindr says it stopped sharing HIV data with those companies and has overhauled its privacy practices since 2020.

See full article at BBC

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