Like Attracts Like– Why This Dating Expert Says Opposites Don’t Attract 

The Short Version: The dating world is full of options, but not always opportunities. That’s where professional matchmakers like those at Executive Connections Dating come in to help singles turn their love lives around. The matchmakers pair singles up on real-life dates that cut through the noise and allow two people to get to know each other and form a relationship.

“The Search Ends Here.” These are the words that light up the screen when you visit the Executive Connections Dating homepage.

And that’s a big relief, right? It’s all most of us singles want to hear after months or years of endless swiping, dead-end message threads, and ruthless ghosting by noncommittal breadcrumbers. 

This Texas-based matchmaking service aims to put an end to the dread that has characterized the swiping era. These matchmakers want to bring intentionality back into the romantic experience. And they’re doing a darn good job of it. 

Jorrie Lynn and Tiffany Hamm, who are founders and matchmakers at Executive Connections Dating, give us a glimpse into how they ended up here (“here” being as one of the leading matchmaking services in the Houston, Dallas, and Austin areas) and how they go about helping local Texas singles find love. 

We also asked them for their tips for modern daters, and they told us some hard truths about what really makes a compatible match. (Hint: Romantic comedies have it all wrong). But I’m getting ahead of myself – let’s start at the beginning of their story.

Some people have success stories that start with humble beginnings. In Jorrie and Tiffany’s case, however, they went about things a little differently. Both of them originally made their way in the matchmaking business by working for a large-scale national company. 

They were interviewing clients and making matches, but it just wasn’t tugging at their heartstrings the way they hoped. The dynamic duo wanted to make a real impact — so they called it quits and decided to carve a new path for themselves.

“We wanted to do something that was more service-oriented than focused on revenue,” Jorrie asserts. 

“And to just be much more hands on with our clients,” Tiffany adds. 

Their desire to approach the art of matchmaking with a little more TLC and a lot more personalization led them down the path toward Executive Connections Dating — a boutique, white glove service where meaningful relationships is the name of the game and “People Over Profits” is the unofficial motto. 

Singles who enlist the help of Executive Connections Dating tend to be busy and driven professionals who are sick of all the bullshit, to be quite frank.

“I think that most of our clients felt like they weren’t getting the results that they were looking for online just because there’s a bunch of fake profiles. And it’s just a whole second job to manage an online account with the messaging back and forth,” Jorrie tells us. 

With matchmakers dedicated to forming genuine and compatible connections, Executive Connections Dating clients can bypass the buffoonery and focus their time and hard-earned money on a more efficient dating process.

Matchmakers start by conducting a full interview with each client, extracting all the juicy information necessary to understand the individual and what makes them tick.

This means asking them about who they are, how they envision their love life, their preferences, red flags, and relationship history. No stone is left unturned.

“We talk about religion, finances, politics – if it’s important to someone, we’re talking about it,” Tiffany puts it firmly. 

The conversations will get pretty deep, but the deeper the better. And the same goes for the potential matches they interview, especially as it pertains to sussing out their dating goals.

“When we’re going through the vetting process, there’s sort of a slew of questions that we ask surrounding their past relationships and what they’re doing to be proactive about finding a new relationship,” says Tiffany. 

Being fed dishonest answers about dating intentions has been a major complaint in the singles dating pool — by women in particular — so getting straight down to brass tacks with both client and potential match has helped love-seekers side-step the deception.

Plus, Tiffany tells us that interviewees tend to be a bit more to the point when spoken to one on one:

“We also just ask them directly what they’re looking for. And because we’re not the ones on the date with them, they’re much more transparent with their answers.”

Additionally, a stand-out feature in the Executive Connections Dating process is the company’s emphasis on finding ease and comfort between client and matchmaker every step of the way.

“We work almost like someone’s best friend. We know hundreds and hundreds of singles and then also everything about them and what they’re looking for. And so if people walk into this more comfortably — like ‘Hey, my best friend is setting me up on a date’ — the transition is just a little bit more smooth.”

All in all, the journey is a balance of give and take. Matchmaking experts use the information provided by their clients to hand-select viable matches, and even do the legwork in curating the perfect first date. 

After the initial interaction is over, the expert and client regroup to chat about feedback and strategize next steps. Maybe it’s back to the drawing board, or maybe it’s onward and upward to date number two. The matchmaker (AKA your stand-in bestie) is there to act as a bright guiding light either way.

“We’re there with them throughout the whole process,” Jorrie affirms with a warm smile. 

In addition to providing them with enough piping hot tea to quench their thirst for a lifetime, working with hundreds upon hundreds of couples has given Tiffany and Jorrie insights into what really makes a compatible match. And rom-com lovers are not going to like this one: 

“I’ll say this until I’m blue in the face,” Tiffany exclaims with a pointed expression.

“People think that opposites attract, but it’s actually not the case. In fact, research shows, and research proves, that like attracts like. And it needs to be physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. Those are the four pillars where there needs to be a lot of overlap.”

Turns out the small-town boy/big-city girl, hopeless romantic/perpetual cynic, and free-spirited/uptight know-it-all tropes are only cut out for the big screen, not our real lives.

More important than any initial interest or attraction will be that two people in a couple are aligned on the important things, namely: politics, background, desire for children, and sometimes ethnicity. 

“And a similar lifestyle, too,” Jorrie adds.

In conjunction with having similar interests and values, these Executive Connections Dating professionals highlight the importance of singles having unified dating goals.

Many singles find, however, that deciphering whether someone is serious about their search for love is one of the trickiest obstacles to navigate when starting to date someone new.

To better extract the answers you need from a potential partner, Tiffany recommends broaching the subject with intentionality and confidence.

“You just need to have an open conversation with that person about your dating goals and what those look like. You need to make sure that those are in alignment.” 

And if this doesn’t work? Take note of how your potential partner acts instead of putting too much stock into what they say.

“I think consistent effort is probably the best way to decipher if someone’s actually looking for a relationship.”

Let’s put it this way: Don’t fall for the half-in, half-out breadcrumbing stuff. You’re hungry and deserve a full and hearty meal. 

When asked how searching singles can make the most of their dating experience — regardless of whether they use a matchmaking service — Tiffany and Jorrie share some tried-and-true advice:

“As far as a first date goes, I recommend being punctual, being well dressed, having good conversation, and making sure there’s that back and forth piece— you know, you can’t be talking about yourself the whole time. How you treat the waitstaff is also huge,” Tiffany says, her eyes lighting up especially on that last part. 

Jorrie, wrapping up their bestowed wisdom in a neat, concise little bow, says, “Just show up as your authentic self. Don’t try to be someone else. You don’t want to waste your time if you’re not somebody’s cup of tea.”