Page 82 - Cosmopolitan - UK (April 2020)

The walls are

blood red, with

mismatched

frames housing

black and white

pictures of

various men I

don’t recognise.

The floorboards are so trodden they’re shiny, and the rugs
– along with the waitresses’ skirts – are tartan. From next
door comes the boom of male laughter and, suddenly,
these men come piling in, clad in novelty jumpers, to
make their way through to the cigar terrace. One of them,
I’m told, is a right-wing politician – I didn’t look up in
time. Another, a Hollywood actor who I’m much more
upset not to spot. On our table sits a bottle of champagne,
and – every now and then – these men make their way
over to us, where Mairead Molloy, global director of someone in a bar, get your mate to set you up or flirt with
Berkeley International, the elite matchmaking agency, that hot person you see in work’s communal kitchen
pours them a glass and asks them about their lives. area? Then Tinder came along, in 2012, and made those
It seems I’ve finally found the answer to the question IRL connections seem dated. Why settle for whoever is in
“Where are all the men hiding?” The whole place is soaked your current vicinity or friendship group when sitting in

in testosterone. Whether they’re “good” men depends on your pocket are millions of singles just waiting to speak
your personal preferences (and politics), but considering to you? Two years after its launch, Tinder was boasting
Molloy has spent the past 16 years setting up high-net- around a billion swipes per day. Then even more apps
worth individuals with each other, she’ll have the perfect came along – both Bumble and Happn launched in
match in mind for each and every one of them. 2014 – and before long there was one for every preference.
When I moved to London, over a decade ago, I tried to Into beards? There’s an app for that. Fancy a threesome?
become a professional matchmaker. I printed out my CV, There’s an app for that as well. Our preference for staying
wrote long covering letters detailing my “experience” in and swiping was, according to some experts, behind
and sent them off to various agencies. But, it turns out, the UK’s failing nightclub scene, which has dipped in
setting up one couple (who split after three years) and value by an estimated £200 million in the past five
chatting up people in clubs on behalf of my friends years.* (Netflix, an unstable economy and the booming
were not the qualifications they were looking for. wellness scene have also undoubtedly played their part.)
Even back then the idea of paying someone to find you But, lately, the tide appears to be turning. Cosmopolitan
a prospective suitor seemed straight out of Pride And research found that 70% of our readers would prefer to
Prejudice. Why part with your cash when you could meet meet someone in real life, dating events increased by

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