Make Dating Fun Again

**Alex Cooper** (0:00)
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Daddy Gang, welcome back to another Sunday session. I am feeling really, really reflective heading into today's episode because fun fact, tomorrow is Matt and I's two year wedding anniversary, which means we will have been together for a total of six years going on seven. That is like insane to say out loud. In some ways, I feel like we've been together our whole lives. But then another part of me is like still shocked that I'm married and I have a husband and I'm a wife. But as we're entering into this third year of marriage, I have been thinking a lot about the time before Matt and I ever met. Obviously, I feel so grateful and lucky to be in this phase of my life with him. But I'm also really grateful for the time that I gave myself to just be single and on my own before we ended up together. Because even though being single can, of course, be extremely stressful and disappointing at times, it can also be one of the most transformative and empowering phases of your life. And I am so happy now to be building this life with Matt, but I was really happy when I was single too. And yes, I know like being single and being married are two wildly different experiences. But what I really want to emphasize today is that one phase is not more meaningful or important than the other. When Matt came into my life, I was really enjoying dating. I was meeting new people. I was figuring out what I liked, getting to know myself better, was building my career. And because of that, I think Matt and I were able to take our time and not rush into anything. And I think now looking back, that was such a huge part of why our relationship worked so well. Like I didn't need Matt, Matt didn't need me. We were both so centered and working on ourselves that it kind of was like, if this works out, great, but like don't really need you. And like, I'm a very independent person. And if our lives naturally come together, great, but like kind of doesn't matter if it doesn't work out because I'm good on my own. And I think that was such a beautiful place to be in when I met Matt. And because of that, I do think that those early dating stages between us, they got to just be really fun. Like they were low stakes and we just both got to kind of be along for the ride and just enjoy ourselves. Why I'm bringing this up is because lately, when I talk to my single friends or when I'm reading DMs that you guys are sending me for Questions of the Week, I feel like the experience that I got to have when I was single is very different from the experience of dating and trying to find your person in 2026 And weirdly, like I know it wasn't that long ago that I was single, like seven-ish years ago, but a lot continues to change with social media. And listen, I know it's like not exactly a hot take to say that dating apps have completely changed the way that we meet people, but for better or worse, they have taken a lot of the curiosity and the spontaneity out of the process of meeting someone new. There's obviously so many positives of dating apps, but that is one of the cons, right? And I can totally see how people might feel like the only option in today's dating culture is to meet your person on an app. But I also know that when you're single and your mentality is in that headspace where you're like, oh, I don't really want to be single anymore. Like I just want to find a partner. Like I don't want to be going out to clubs and drinking and going to the bars and all of that. Like it's almost like you go on that drinks and you're like really hoping it's going to be amazing. And then it's like, and then like you go on the second date because you're like, come on, like maybe there's like something I missed. Like maybe he is better on the second date than the first. Then you're like, oh my God, this is worse than the first date. And then you end up ghosting each other. And like then the worst part, you're like, I have to start all over again because I just spent so much time in the apps. And then I got out of the apps and we started texting. And then I met him on the date and it was horrible. And now I'm back to the apps. Like that whole process I do want to acknowledge can make you feel a little numb. It's just the truth. You start to become numb to dating. And if you're anything like a lot of my single friends, then you're probably also at a place where like, you know exactly what you're looking for. Your standards are probably really high. You've done a lot of work on yourself, but every date you go on just feels like another disappointing job interview, another waste of time. And I think when dates start to feel like this chore that you have to check off your list, I think that we really then start to strip ourselves from the potential to actually have a lot of fun in the process of getting to know someone and being single and dating. And so I am here today, Daddy Gang, to try to bring a little fun back for you. Okay, we're gonna try to make dating feel fun again. And that is my mission for today's episode. If you have been feeling hopeless or overwhelmed with your dating life, then this episode is for you. I have not forgotten my single girls. Let's get into it.