Matchmaker Reveals What Wealthy Men Really Want | The Ella Era

Summary

Lauren Hunter, a Melbourne-based matchmaker whose business works with clients in Australia and internationally, says wealthy and successful people often seek matchmaking because they’re busy, value privacy, or are tired of dating apps. Her service starts at around $25,000, with some global searches costing as much as $200,000.

Hunter says her work includes in-depth client interviews, vetting, feedback, and coaching. It can also involve practical help with clothing, grooming, and profile photos.

After her own divorce, Hunter reconsidered what makes a relationship last. She now emphasizes emotional maturity, shared values, compatible life stages, and a willingness to build a relationship over superficial traits. In her view, many successful men are single not because they can’t get dates, but because they’ve deprioritized dating, had bad experiences, or are content with their lives until they decide they want a partner or family.

Dating Tips and Advice

• Reassess deal-breakers. Hunter cautions against long, rigid lists of requirements. Minor preferences—such as whether someone has a cat—can distract from more important compatibility.
• Focus on behavior. Reliability, honesty, authenticity, generosity with time, patience, and emotional maturity matter more than appearance alone.
• Treat a date as a chance to meet someone, not conduct an interview. Avoid turning a date into a checklist about someone’s finances, exes, or personal history. Flirt, enjoy the conversation, and let chemistry develop.
• Make a first date feel intentional. Hunter advises against splitting the bill or choosing coffee for a first date, suggesting a drink or dinner instead. People who don’t drink, she says, should feel confident in that choice and shouldn’t feel obliged to explain it.
• Put effort into your presentation without pretending to be someone else. Use recent, clear profile photos where your face and eyes are visible; avoid distant shots and sunglasses. Hunter recommends a simple, polished look and says professional photos can be useful beyond dating apps.
• Keep app profiles concise and authentic. Avoid long essays and misleading photos. Rather than chatting for weeks, suggest meeting in person relatively soon if both people feel comfortable.
• Be proactive offline. Get out into the world, start conversations respectfully, make new friends, and expand your social network. Hunter suggests cafés, social activities, and running or walking clubs as ways to meet people. She stresses that approaching someone should be considerate, not intrusive.
• Ask for introductions, but don’t rely on friends to do all the work. Friends, partners, and professional networks may know compatible single people. Simply matching two people because they’re both single isn’t enough; compatibility matters.
• Keep building your own life. Hunter encourages people who feel discouraged to focus on their well-being, stay socially active, and remain open to connection without tying every interaction to a particular outcome.
• Communicate and nurture relationships. Hunter describes partnerships as ongoing teamwork: speak up about what you need, listen, try to understand each other, and make time for the relationship amid work and family responsibilities.

Matchmaking, Apps, and Relationships

Hunter says her matchmaking process begins with a discovery call about a client’s dating goals, history, and hopes for the future. She looks for alignment and says clients need to be receptive to feedback. After dates, she gathers candid feedback to identify blind spots and help clients improve.

Hunter reports a 98% first-date success rate for her business, while noting that long-term outcomes aren’t guaranteed.

For dating apps, Hunter names Hinge as her top choice and suggests it for people aged roughly 20–40. For people aged 40–70 in Australia, she suggests Bumble. She criticizes Raya as overly hyped and says Tinder is not her preferred option. More broadly, she says apps can lead to prolonged chats and “pen-pal” situations, while meeting in person helps people judge whether there’s a real connection.

Hunter also says wealthy men aren’t looking for someone to treat them as a bank or to rescue them. She advocates for reciprocal relationships in which both people contribute and support one another.

Notable Locations, Products, and Speakers

• Speakers: Lauren Hunter, matchmaker and founder of CINQUE (pronounced “Sync”); podcast host Ella May Ding.
• Business: CINQUE / Sync, Hunter’s matchmaking service.
• Locations mentioned: Melbourne, Sydney, Queensland, Brisbane, Perth, and Windsor.
• Dating apps and other names mentioned: Hinge, Bumble, Raya, Tinder, and Matthew Hussey.