Dating can be daunting. Some people go for the same type of partners time and again, ignoring red flags and gravitating toward drama. It doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, it shouldn’t be that way. 

On this episode of Divorce, Healthy!, dating coach Bela Gandhi discusses her successful career in matchmaking. Although it started as somewhat of a party trick, Bela’s ability to successfully match those around her eventually led to her passion. In 2009, she started the Smart Dating Academy, a coaching and consulting company that teaches people how to find the happiest and best loves of their lives. 

“[We] help people stop doing the same thing over and over again, which is picking partners that aren’t good for them, and instead, start picking partners that are going to make them happy, and be a real partner in their life and make life easy and fun,” Bela says. 

Bela also discusses the current marriage rate in the U.S., which is the lowest level on record. She attributes this record low rate to people waiting longer to get married. 

“I think now, with women being in school in record numbers, even outpacing men in schools and in the professional world, we’re more equivalent in so many ways. So people want to put that education to good use, climb that ladder a bit, and marriage is something that people are choosing to do later,” she explains. 

Despite the low marriage rate, people are still choosing to “partner up.” After 12 years of business, Bela has not had a single divorce among her clients. Looking at childhood environments and individual desire, Bela has discovered a successful algorithm for matching people.

Tune in to this episode of Divorce! Healthy with Ashley-Nicole Russell, Collaborative Attorney serving Beaufort, Raleigh, and Greenville, NC. 

💡 Featured Guests 💡

Name: Bela Gandhi

What she does: Bela Gandhi is the founder of Smart Dating Academy, a coaching and consulting company that teaches people how to find the happiest and best loves of their lives.

Words of wisdom: “My mission is to put more love into this world.”

Connect: Website | LinkedIn | Instagram 

🗝️ Key Points 🗝️

Top takeaways from this Divorce, Healthy! episode

★    Smart Dating Academy helps people find love and avoid making the same mistakes again. Dating can be difficult and isolating. Bela’s company helps determine clients’ true wants and needs, helping them avoid red flags and find lifelong partners. 

★    Set yourself up for success. Seeking help from the Smart Dating Academy can prevent divorce later on, as it pairs people based on their upbringings and deepest needs among other points of interest.

★    Social expectations of marriage have changed but the desire for love remains. Now, more than ever, people are prioritizing themselves and putting marriage on the back burner. This has led to record low marriage rates but has not slowed down people’s desire to partner up and find love.

 

âš¡ Episode Insights âš¡

[02:19] Fix your picker: The tagline for Bela Gandhi’s Smart Dating Academy sums up the company’s mission, which helps people find the right kind of love for them.

[03:45] Pandemic partnering: During the pandemic, Bela saw more people forming deep connections via video calls. Without the “lure of premature physicality,” she observes that new couples had more honest conversations.

[05:16] Record-low marriage rates: The U.S. is seeing a record low in marriage rates, which Bela attributes to more equality between women and men.

[11:02] A means of preventing divorce: Bela sees her work as preventing the end of marriages by helping people truly find their perfect match.

[19:40] Marriage map process: Bela explains her consulting company’s marriage map process, which helps determine the client’s ideal match by taking into consideration the type of relationship their parents had.

[23:12] High success rate: The Smart Dating Academy’s success rate speaks for itself. This October will be the company’s 12-year anniversary, and it’s never had a divorce among its clients.

[27:53] You may just need some guardrails: “Love is out there for you. … You may just need some guardrails,” Bela insists. She believes there’s a lid to every pot and that she can help each person find it by protecting them from the dings and bumps along the way.

 

Connect with ANR Law

⭐ To inquire about speaking engagements, purchase your copy of Ashley-Nicole’s book “The Cure for Divorce Culture,” or to schedule your private orientation meeting, head to www.anrlaw.com.

⭐ You can also find us on social media @ANRLaw.

⭐ See Ashley-Nicole’s website and book for more marriage rate information.

⭐ Divorce Lawyer Ashley-Nicole Russell has law offices serving clients in Greenville, Raleigh, and Beaufort, North Carolina.

⭐ Find a better way forward, right here, on Divorce, Healthy! Subscribe in your preferred podcast app.