Behind the Scenes at eHarmony: Dating and 542 Marriages a Day

A few years ago, I was single and raising three girls. My oldest son lived in North Carolina with his wife and family. I tried online dating and was matched on eHarmony with a wonderful man named George. He had three girls of his own. 

 

Six months later, we were married. I submitted our success story to eHarmony. "The 'Brady Bunch' on Estrogen" was about two people falling in love and joining six daughters together in one chaotic home. 

eHarmony loved the story! On Valentine's Day 2011, they invited George and me to California to participate in their national marketing campaign. 

Hair, makeup, wardrobe, and action! Twelve couples were invited to film, interview, and do photo shoots with eHarmony in the Hollywood area. We were labeled the "hip" parents. Strike a pose!

 

A few weeks later, our happy faces started popping up on eHarmony.com and ads online! Some of the couples we met showed up on the TV commercials.   

I have continued the relationship with eHarmony by mentoring for their facebook community. A few weeks ago, eHarmony team members welcomed me, George, and our daughters, Jillian and Laura for a personal tour of their new 65,000 sq. ft. Santa Monica, CA corporate office.     

               

eHarmony, a privately held company, was launched August 22, 2000 as an online dating site with an emphasis on long term relationships based on compatibility. An average of 542 eHarmony members marry every day in the USA as a result of being matched on the site.*

Lunch with members of Public Relations, Marketing, and Social Media was enjoyed in the City Grille in the Yahoo Center. Stories were shared about Dr. Neil Clark Warren, a clinical psychologist who is the founder of eHarmony. Dr.Warren studied happily married couples to determine what made them happy. eHarmony's comprehensive questionnaire was developed to determine the 29 Dimensions of Compatibility, later patented by Dr. Warren. 

The highlight of the tour was the endless photos of success couples on the walls at eHarmony. We even spotted our candid shot and were asked to autograph it.

   

Our two teen daughters had a great experience meeting eHarmony's friendly team and learning how a successful business operates. They both want to move to California.

 
 Jillian, our future public relations major, looks very comfortable in the corporate environment!

  

*2009 U.S. survey conducted for eHarmony by Harris Interactive® 

TACKLE the Begining of Christmas Shopping

Ok.  Why do husbands always talk "family budget" right before Christmas?  We all know we are supposed to be spending responsibly all year, but the big sit down talk always surfaces early to mid December.

My solution for the spouse panic attack:  He sets the budget and must assist in all shopping.  His face grew pale and he gritted his teeth at the thought.

Day 1 (and the first of many):  To the mall with the shopaholic daughter to get ideas for gifts for the other five daughters - with husband in tow.  We found him the Dunkin Donuts (no Starbucks in this mall) and gave him caffeine.  It was going to be a long day!  We were greeted by the "Happy Hoofer Dance Team."  Probably the cutest act to hit the mall.  Six senior babes movin' and groovin' to top Christmas tunes.   Scrooge, I mean my husband, even showed a sign of a Christmas twinkle in his eye.

The stores every man in America loathes were on the agenda.  Charlotte Russe with their annoying music and teenagers bouncing through the bargain racks.  The husband decided he had to stand in the store's doorway so he wouldn't miss the Happy Hoofer's rendition of "Jingle Bell Rock."         

Next up... Bath and Body Works.  The big buy 3 get 3 free sale!  Husband walked ten steps into the store dodging all of the testers being sprayed and squirted by fanatical women excited about the new holiday scents.  I wanted him to smell the citrus spray that is on my gift list.  He smelled it, took a picture of the bottle with his cell phone and ran.

There was a rumor that American Eagle had awesome bargains.  The husband followed us into the store and then disappeared.  We were glancing at the interesting books and trinkets when we heard a slight snore sound.  Giggling, we spotted the missing budget guru sleeping on the comfy chairs of American Eagle.  He looked content, so we continued our quest for gifts.  Many 40% off gifts were scooped up in that store. 

Since he was in charge of the plastic, we had to wake him up to pay and collect the receipt.

Our final stop was, in my husband's mind, the little shop of overpriced underwear, Victoria Secret.  I had to make his shopping experience extra horrible by asking him to come into the depth of "Pink."  There were a few poor men scurrying through the nighties and bras.  There was even your token scum ball getting his jollies around the frilly stuff.  I wanted my husband's advice on a robe that I wanted for Christmas.  The price tag made him choke.  He was dismissed from the store.

My daughter and I found our bargains and went to the husband at the doorway for approval.  The credit card was already waving at me as if my husband had surrendered.   He was done.  It was 5:00 pm and the man announced that the day was over.  Something told me that his yearly Christmas shopping experience was over as well.