Tana Gilmore and Kelli Fisher have been great friends for nearly 20 years. They met while working together in corporate America for partnering firms.
As the founders of The Matchmaking DUO, they provide matchmaking services that are designed to accommodate busy, successful professionals who are seeking long-term love. They are also a part of the show “Love Match Atlanta,” which follows the personal and professional lives of five of Atlanta’s hottest matchmakers and the competitive and drama-filled social scene of Atlanta’s bustling matchmaking industry.
Tell us about “Love Match Atlanta.”
Kelli Fisher: We are certified relationship coaches and professional matchmakers. We have been doing that in our business for over 10 years but on “Love Match Atlanta,” we joined a group of love professionals and matchmakers based in Atlanta to be able to show what we do because a lot of people don’t know what matchmakers do. We operate behind the scenes, show them what we do on a day-to-day basis, and connect singles by helping them [to go] from being single to being in an effective relationship. We also show the ups and downs and personalities of the clients and the matchmakers together.
Tana Gilmore: We have an amazing ensemble cast and our production team put together a great cast. We have different personalities, so you’ll see in the show where there’s some conflict and collaboration. The clients bring a little bit of drama also, as well as the cast. It’s a great and entertaining show, but how you solicit our services is you would go to our website thematchmakingduo.com, and select the “become a client” tab. From there, [our] implementation director will contact you with the next steps to have a strategy session with us. What happens is we’ll do a consultation with you for about 60 minutes just to uncover your past challenges and where you may be stuck. Then, we’ll give you some professional feedback on how we may be able to support you and help you and we can decide if we’re a good fit to work together, because we don’t take everybody.
Why do you think it’s hard to date?
KF: We have seen dating evolve over the last 10 years. I think it’s been challenging, especially for Black women and Black people in our community, because it’s now fast-paced. Before women would sit back, let somebody court them, and you don’t really show everything until they have your heart. Now we have the technology, and dating apps, and they can have another date tonight at 7:00. If you don’t pique somebody’s interest now, they’re gone. He’s talking about ghosting because he doesn’t have as much time as he used to have. That’s one of the things where we’re not catching up with [is] how fast-paced everything is. You can’t wait until the end to show all your amazing qualities. You have to embrace technology and be a little more interesting from the beginning.
