Ask a Matchmaker

While Maria is taking a few weeks off, we're revisiting some of her favorite episodes! Season 2 starts in September! It feels like narcissism has taken a bigger role in society in the last few years. What might start off as charming and great can quickly turn negative and unhealthy. How do we make sure we don't get caught up with someone who is a narcissist? What should we look out for? How can yo...

While Maria is on a few weeks break, we're revisiting some of her favorite episodes from season 1! Season 2 starts in September! One of our goals on Ask a Matchmaker is to have real, authentic conversations about all things related to love and relationships. Cut through the BS and talk about things that really matter. This week is no exception. We're talking about sex. We're talking about the sexu...

A few weeks ago, Maria received a closure letter that moved her to tears. It was for a relationship in 2018, but the letter's author wrote it so she could be able to heal and allow love into her life today. Maria decided to invite the woman who wrote the letter onto this week's podcast to talk about healing and moving on in life. Enroll in the next Agape Intensive: https://agapematch.com/agape-gro...

It's been an amazing year on the podcast! Thank you so much for listening and thank you for your support! This fall, we'll be starting season 2. And with season 2, we're starting something new… The Ask a Matchmaker Hotline! You will be able to call in and ask Maria about anything! On the spot advice just for you! Those calls will be on upcoming episodes. This week, we're giving you a sneak peek in...

This week, Maria is talking about one of the most unique dating apps on the internet right now, Snack, with its founder Kim Kaplan! Kim Kaplan was one of the earliest employees at Plenty of Fish. She led product marketing and revenue on the executive team that eventually sold PoF to Match Group for $575 million in 2015. After a two year hiatus after Plenty of Fish, where she spent her time advisin...

Personality tests have been around for many years. Sometimes they're used for fun, sometimes your employer might want you to take them to help with your career. This week, we talk about personality tests with Erin Baute and how they can help you in love and dating! AND Maria takes one on the podcast! Erin has been studying and working in the field of behavior change for over 20 years and uses the...

This week, Maria welcomes author Nancy Jo Sales. Nancy Jo Sales is a New York Times bestselling author and award-winning journalist who has written for Vanity Fair and Harpar's Bazaar among others. Sales famously exposed Hollywood's "Bling Ring," a group of teens who broke into the homes of celebrities like Paris Hilton and Orlando Bloom, stealing millions of dollars' worth of luxury goods. Known...

Arguments happen in relationships. That's just a fact. But we're not really taught how to handle it when we start dating. There is no rule book on how to handle the situation! This week, Maria chats with Monica Berg on how to handle arguments and disagreements with your partner in a healthy way! Monica Berg is a spiritual thought leader and author of "Fear is Not an Option" and "Rethink Love." She...

This week, Maria is so excited to welcome Marlo Thomas! Marlo Thomas is an actress, a producer, an author, a philanthropist and a social activist. In fact, she's in the OG group of feminist icons. Having starred in the sitcom "That Girl" in the 60s, she is the prototype to the "single girl in the city" sitcoms that have been in production ever since. She's won four Emmy awards, a Golden Globe and...

This week, we're talking about love on a different level. Maria talks so much about her belief in manifestation. Is it possible to call in your soulmate? Do we really HAVE soulmates in our lives? We're going deep into the soul with physic medium, Michelle Clare.  In a span of 11 years, Michelle had had 3 near death experiences. The second one was a monumental life changing event in which Michelle...

This week on the podcast, Maria talks to the co-hosts of the Shooters Gotta Shoot podcast, Erica Spera and Molly DeMellier. NCAA athletes Erica Spera and Molly DeMellier have always taken shots on and off the court. They know how to get what they want, except when it comes to men. Recently, dating has become harder to navigate with Erica getting diagnosed with herpes and Molly's sister/best friend...

This week, Maria is so excited to welcome Dr. Helen Fisher to the podcast to answer your dating and relationship questions! Fisher has written several books about  the evolution and future of human sex, love, marriage, gender differences in the brain, how your personality style shapes who you are and who you love, and more. Her books include Anatomy of Love: A Natural History of Mating, Marriage,...

While we spend much of our time on the podcast talking about finding love, what do you do once that happens? How do you protect yourself and your family when you decide to say "I do!" to one another? It's time to talk about the big D… divorce.  This week's guest is Certified Family Law Specialist Kelly Chang Rickert, better known online as Lawyer Kelly.  She has exclusively handled family law case...

This week Maria welcomes your new gay best friend, Matthew Anchel, to help with your dating and relationship questions! Maria and Matthew tackle body image in dating as well as some unique insight into dating from around the world. Follow Matthew on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthewanchel/ Visit Matthew's website: https://www.matthewanchel.com/ Enroll in the next Agape Intensive: https:...

This week, Jenna Langbaum joins us to discuss her new book, "Me in Seach of You", which is a collection of stories inspired by her dating life as well as others through prose. "Me in Search of You" is the kind of book you're going to stop after every story and reflect on your own dating experiences. It is available where all books are sold.  Jenna Langbaum is a creative director, copywriter, poet...

It's easy to sit on our phone, scroll through social media and feel the fear of missing out, or FOMO. Everything looks amazing! Why aren't I doing that? Why don't I have that in my life? When it comes to dating, it's easy to not make a decision or commitment when there are so many options available. It's the fear of better options, or FOBO. But how do we live in the moment? How do we make the deci...

Long distance relationships are brought up every week on Ask a Matchmaker on Instagram. This week, we dig deep into the topic with The King and Queen of Long Distance, Maria and her husband, George! They met in Boston while George was living up there and Maria was still in New York City. For the next SIX YEARS (!!), they dated, got married and had a kid while living hundreds of miles apart! Don't...

We're so excited to have her back! In episode 2, we welcomed Fotini Iconomopoulos to talk about negotiating in every part of your life, including your relationship! This week, she's back to talk about new upcoming book "Say Less, Get More" and share some tactics in negotiating in your job, your relationship and every part of your life! e!  Nicknamed "the negotiator" as a child, Fotini has been hon...

So often we focus on what a potential match is saying to us. But also what can we learn from their body language? Those little things we see can say so much.  This week, it's all about the power of body language with body language expert Blanca Cobb! Blanca Cobb has been featured on national TV as well as numerous publications across the country. If they're talking about body language, Blanca is t...

With the vaccine rollouts across the world, is it safe to start dating in person again? What does dating look like once we have the shot? How do we keep ourselves safe as we transition through the vaccine process? So many questions. Today, we have some answers for you. Last week, Maria was the moderator of a special panel called "Dare to Date: The Covid Vaccine and Dating Safety." It was put on by...

This week on the podcast, Maria is reading your closure letters with one of her good friends, Katie Murphy! Katie took the crazy situation of 2020 and made something amazing out of it! When she lost her job at the beginning of the pandemic, she bought a tent, packed her car and camped out across the country! Plus, they will share a letter Maria received from someone that was gaslit by a man last y...

During the pandemic, she was bored. So she started her own dating show! This week's guest is Serena Kerrigan, AKA Serena F*cking Kerrigan, or SFK. She hosts her own dating show on Instagram called Let's F*cking Date, in which she goes on weekly live dates as her friends and fans watch and comment.  Watch episodes of Let's F*cking Date on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letsfuckingdate/ Follow...

"Did I just date a narcissist?" More than likely you or someone you know has asked this question. Narcissists come off as charming and amazing at first.  But then you start to see the patterns. The truth comes out. What do you do then? This week, Maria is joined by Heather Kent to help you, whether you're currently dating one or dated one in the past. Heather Kent is a Registered Psychotherapist w...

Financial compatibility is such an important part of a relationship. Yet it's also one of the toughest things to talk about with a potential partner. Heck, it can even be tough to talk about when you're married! Do you two have the same beliefs about money? Are you two in debt? Do you spend a lot or do you prefer to save? How do you take care of the bills when you get married? So many questions! ...

The cold weather in Texas has been all over the news the last two weeks. This week, Maria talks to someone on the ground and is dealing with it first hand... lifestyle blogger, Danielle Price. After graduating from film school at the University of Southern California in 2014, Danielle worked at a content creation focused ad agency & house of lifestyle magazines in Los Angeles. Danielle quit her jo...