Taylor Francois-Bodine Offers Bespoke Matchmaking Services to Elite Singles in Washington, D.C. and Around the World

The Short Version: Taylor Francois-Bodine started matchmaking as a hobby while working in Washington, D.C., as a senator’s aide and lobbyist. Her high-profile matches turned into lasting relationships so often that she decided to leave the political world and form her own matchmaking firm, Francois-Bodine Consulting. The boutique service is small enough that Taylor meets and matches every client using her unique proven methods, and she works only by referral, ensuring she is giving each person a customized experience.Taylor Francois-Bodine

has made a name for herself as a matchmaker for elite clients, but she didn’t always envision a future in helping powerful, famous, and successful singles find love. Instead, it was her first career in the political world of Washington, D.C., that sent her down this surprising path.

“When I was working for a tenured senator and at a lobbying firm, I found myself doing matchmaking on the side,” she said. “After hours, I would connect colleagues from different offices for events, and I found out that many of their relationships were lasting.”

Even when she started working for a lobbying firm, she kept getting calls from high-powered D.C. folks asking her to match them. Eventually, Taylor decided to leave her career in politics to focus on matchmaking full time, and she found her niche connecting some of those same successful individuals she had met during her career on Capitol Hill.

Taylor Francois-Bodine transitioned from the world of politics to the world of matchmaking.

“Everything was a secret in Washington, D.C., because no one wanted anyone to know they used a matchmaker,” she told us.

Though all of Taylor’s clients are successful in their careers, their busy lifestyles often mean they don’t have time to meet people. So Taylor takes the ambiguity out of their dating lives, personally creating every match. She limits the number of clients with whom she works so she can give each one her full attention at any given time.

“I only take on 10 clients at a time because I create the custom matching strategy myself,” she said.

With that limited client list, Taylor can focus not only on creating exceptional matches but also on helping clients become the best partners they can be.

Since the beginning, Taylor has only worked through client referrals. Instead of seeking out clients, she finds that they either seek her help or past clients will refer them to her. And she has worked with singles from all walks of life and 23 countries around the world.

“I started working with Washington elite and was eventually referred to celebrities, presidents of large corporations, and the like,” Taylor said.

Initially, Taylor mostly worked with successful men looking for love, but she’s found herself taking on more female clients.

She shared the story of a client who was smitten with a gentleman whose photo Taylor had shown her. Since they were both busy professional people, though, neither the client nor the object of her affection could find a time to meet.

“After six months of dating other people, they finally found a time to meet,” Taylor said. “Their first date was in Tahiti, and the second date solidified their relationship. Within six months, they were engaged.”

Taylor said her clients have to be involved and invested for her matchmaking process to work. That is where the referral process comes in; new clients have likely been referred to Taylor because her services have already worked for their friends or colleagues.

At the same time, she knows that finding a matchmaker and sharing personal details about oneself isn’t the most natural thing for most people. And highly successful people often find their difficulty in finding a suitable match even more surprising and sensitive.

“I feel honored to be in this business because it’s a private part of someone’s life, and it takes a lot of vulnerability to share that with someone,” Taylor said.

When Taylor takes on a client, she devotes a considerable amount of time to ensure that she understands his or her unique needs. That’s why she starts the process with a one- to-two-hour consultation.

“We always go through family history, what you seek in a partner, and what your daily life looks like,” Taylor said. “That gives me information about why the person is single, what they desire, and their willingness to be receptive to change.”

Taylor also gives her clients tough love, when necessary, about what they need to work on. She assesses clients’ style, clothing, and mental health to determine if they need to make some tweaks to attract the right partner.

“People think matchmaking is an easy and glamorous business, but it takes a lot of work,” Taylor said. “It’s not instant gratification. It takes work on the part of the matchmaker and the client.”

Taylor ensures her elite clients are ready to date successfully by assessing their style and mental health.

Once a client is ready to date, Taylor starts the matching process. First, she sends the client a profile of a potential mate — typically along with a picture. However, the bio is discreet enough that the client can’t just search online to figure out who they are.

If a client is satisfied with Taylor’s match, she’ll set up a date. This secrecy serves two purposes. First, most of Francois-Bodine Consulting’s clients don’t want the world to know that they’re dating or using a matchmaker. At the same time, though, Taylor wants to prevent her clients from learning too much about each other before they’ve even met in person.

“Most of the time, you already know everything about the person, but when you get to the date, there’s no spark,” she said. “Chemistry and body language can give them a sense of if they spark.”

Taylor shared a story about one of her clients who needed to work on herself before she could find the types of men who interested her. Taylor developed a workout and mental health plan for the client, and set up regular check-ins to monitor her progress. After a year of self-improvement and dating, Taylor’s client finally started to attract the men she wanted to date.

“You’ve got to be resilient, and it will come. But you have to keep doing the work,” Taylor said.

While Taylor didn’t envision a career in matchmaking when she worked in the political world of Washington, D.C., it came to her naturally. Now, she focuses all of her efforts on helping successful singles find meaningful matches.

After a first date, clients need to determine if they feel a “spark” with their partner, Taylor said. That’s why clients aren’t allowed to exchange contact information — no phone number, no email — on the first date. Instead, they have to contact Taylor within 24 hours and describe their impressions of the person.

“If one party wants to go on the second date and the other doesn’t, this process mitigates any awkwardness,” she told us.

“My app will feature my expertise. I want to help those people who find themselves on dating apps year after year.” — Taylor Francois-Bodine

After the third date, clients can engage with each other as they wish. However, Taylor still expects both parties to give her updates about their relationship and its progress.

Now that she’s had considerable success helping couples find love, Taylor wants to extend her reach, which is why she’s developing an app. The goal is to bring the methods she uses to match elite singles to more people.

“My app will feature my expertise. I want to help those people who find themselves on dating apps year after year,” Taylor told us.

Years after leaving the political world to focus on her passion, Taylor said she’s happy with her choice.

“Because of this work, I have created a positive impact with people who have tried to improve their lives for so long,” she explained. “It feels really good.”