Relationships Talk

Along with traffic and housing costs, the population boom in the Denver metro area can affect a less obvious part of residents’ lives: navigating the dating world.

“While that doesn’t make us different from New York or San Francisco, it is a change here,” said Dr. Tracy Bacon, a sociology professor at Arapahoe Community College in Littleton. “It makes dating a lot harder because dating is expensive.”

From deciding when to move a relationship under one roof to the types of people in the dating pool, Bacon said, a changing population can make the nerve-wracking process even more complex. Added obstacles among young people can affect looking for marriage, too.

“Most people do still get married eventually, but I feel like with millennials, the difficulty with finding financial stability, finishing education and having all these student loans can make a long-term marriage commitment seem kind of far off,” Bacon said.

But singles can also benefit from a wealth of ways to meet people in the metro area — and it goes far beyond sitting awkwardly in a bar or swiping through faces on a phone.

Young and crowded

Many people are moving for reasons like tech-industry jobs or education, and young professionals may have a large dating pool in the Denver area, Bacon said.

For people who aren’t as educated or have lower income, dating may be difficult here, Bacon guessed.

“Theoretically, anyone can fall in love with anyone,” said Bacon, adding that people can find love across educational divides. “But realistically, we end up with people who are a lot like us.”

The Denver-Aurora-Lakewood metropolitan statistical area — which includes Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Jefferson and Park counties — was ranked by Forbes as the sixth-best metro area nationwide for young professionals based on factors like the unemployment rate, job growth and other factors in 2017. People age 20 to 34 made up about 23 percent of that metro area in 2017, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

That metro area also had the 10th-highest percentage of college graduates among people age 25 to 34 in large metro areas nationwide, according to a February report by the Brookings Institution based on 2015 numbers.

For out-of-state residents moving to the metro area, meeting people can be difficult, particularly if they have jobs where they work remotely in their apartments, said Dr. Mary Ann Watson, a clinical psychologist and professor emerita at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

And when young people do meet, housing can become a challenge, Bacon said.

“Younger people are living with their parents more,” Bacon said. That’s not a deal-breaker, but “it’s a little harder to date if you’re living at home as an adult. You might see people moving in together before they want to because it saves money — more of a financial decision than a good relationship decision.”

Online and face to face

Despite the popularity of dating apps like Tinder, many people in their 20s often continue their “college kind of dating experiences” — namely, in bars, Watson said.

“I’m not sure that’s a very good setting,” Watson said. “In a bar with 200 people there, there might be one or two people more compatible with you.”

Watson contrasted that with volunteering or attending a meetup, a group activity organized online. Meetup.com has options throughout the metro area — from Castle Rock up to Thornton and in between.

People age 30 and up commonly take part in meetups, centering around interests like dogs, cooking, tennis and “all sorts of opportunities,” Watson said. “I find that’s usually much more helpful. Particularly, volunteer opportunities are a good way to meet people.”

Craig Barber, a Littleton-area resident who runs meetups on the 5280 Singles, 5280 Singles Over 40 and 5280 Singles Adventures groups, said young singles should stop relying so much on technologies.

“Social media isn’t even social,” said Barber, whose meetup groups boast more than 10,000 members combined. “Social is talking.”

But online dating can have its upsides, and it’s much less stigmatized than it was years ago, Bacon said.

“When online dating came out, people were like, ‘Oh, what’s wrong with you?’” Bacon said. But “in some ways, it makes it easier — you can weed people out. When you’re in a city with so many people, it’s much more efficient.”

Gender and age

The nickname “Menver,” given to Denver because of a perceived gender imbalance, dates back years and has caught on in local media — and the statistics appear to back it up in the dating world.

In the metro area — the broad Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, 10-county definition — males outnumber females roughly 224,000 to 183,000 among ages 20 to 34 for people who have never married, according to 2017 Census Bureau data. That gap remains wide all the way up through ages 55 to 59, according to the data.

For LGBTQ singles, gay bars sit in central Denver — people in places like Aurora, Highlands Ranch and the outskirts of the metro area are “kind of restricted to coming into town,” Watson said.

Other options include LGBTQ choruses and even LGBTQ issue-based groups, given the current political climate, Watson said. Many meetups are geared toward LGBTQ residents in the area.

For older singles in their 60s and 70s, existing friends can be a road to new connections, Watson said.

“Let them know you’re open to meeting new people or dating new people,” Watson said.

Meetup groups are successful with older singles, too, said Watson, who encouraged them to rekindle activities and interests they haven’t taken up since earlier in life.

Celeste Tarantola, an Arvada resident who said she’s middle-aged, was looking to get out and interact with people after a relationship ended. She doesn’t believe in dating sites, she said, but meetups “got me out of my apartment.” She sat at one such event Oct. 26, watching people learn steps to a country-style dance at Stampede, a country bar and club on the west edge of Aurora.

Barber, who organized the event and sat next to Tarantola, said in an area with such an influx of outsiders, people will encounter different viewpoints, and it’s important to listen and be caring. But in general, his dating advice boiled down to having fun.

“Go out and do the things you like,” Barber said. “Live life, because life is short. That way, at least you’ll have something in common.”

THE idea for my experiment came to me when a friend got exasperated that I’d been single for four years.

“Perhaps you’re… just too nice? Men love bitches, you know. I have just the book for you.” I was forcibly lent a silly paperback called Men Adore a Bitch.

Millicent Binks’ friends had lots of theories about why she was still single – so she put their ideas to the test

I laughed as I turned the pages. What if I actually took this advice to the extreme? Would men really respond to being treated like pond scum by an adversarial amour?

Having previously written a sex column, completed a degree in costume interpretation at Wimbledon College of Art and with a background in performance, I thought I could combine all of these skills to good effect.

The idea was to go out dressed up as extreme female characters and document how men react to them.

First I had to choose the personas. I’d start with five so I didn’t have to shell out too much money on wigs.

Millicent Binks wanted to look ‘real’ in her experiment adopting different personas

These wigs had to be made of real human hair — I had to look real.

For my alter egos I chose five female stereotypes: gold digger, bitch, Jezebel, academic and androgyne.

Once I’d chosen my new identity and had sourced a costume, I got ready in my bedroom.

Then I’d decide where to go, usually somewhere that was out of my own comfort zone, but fun for my character. Once I had slipped into the outfits I became the stereotype I was portraying.

Here I reveal just what it taught me about men.

Universal

Millicent’s “bitch” character was inspired by Ava Gardner in the 1946 film The Killers

The Bitch goes to the snooker club

Some women’s dating advice books have asserted that men “love bitches”. But how mean can you be before a man is actually put off?

As I walked into the snooker club, I twisted my face into a look of distaste; my lips were pursed into a prune, my eyes were slitted. I crossed my arms and indented my skin with sharp nails. I was a little out of place in a vampish red dress among the cue wielders.

Millicent became Ava Collins, a bitch who insulted men at a snooker club

I leant on the wall and watched an avid player with my eyebrow high and unimpressed. He concentrated so hard on the ball that his eyes almost overlapped.

He seemed about 30; his skin tone was an attractive olive brown. I asked him what his name was. It was Fabiano.

“That shot was horrifically bad, Fabiano. You should be mortified,” I said in a tone that was not flirtatious but cutting. I had to be careful because sometimes insults can come across as frolicsome.

“Thanks for that,” he replied shirtily.

“How homoerotic is this place? Just men, playing with balls and wooden poles!” He didn’t reply.

“Oh, don’t pot the black — blue balls!”

“You’re actually putting me off.”

“Don’t blame me that you’re cock-cued and can’t aim!”

He told me to eff off, so I thought I’d better oblige and instead picked on his friend, who was playing with him. His name was Patrick.

She told a snooker player his shot was incredibly bad

“Can I ask you a question, Patrick? What’s the meanest thing a woman’s ever done to you but you still fancied her?”

“I had an ex who stole my mum’s designer clothes and my Playstation and sold them on eBay. I found out but kept on going out with her for ages.”

“Goodness. You must be a complete walkover.”

“I don’t know. She was really fit. And was kind of exciting.”

I spent the next half-hour picking at Patrick’s snooker skills and clothes, anything I could think of. He seemed to take it as flirting, though I tried hard to make it sound sincere. I then got a conniving idea.

In front of Patrick’s confused face, my bitchy claws handed a business card with a mobile number on it (I had a second phone for these operations) to friend Fabiano.

I wanted to see if the texts she got were “potential relationship” texts or “potential one-night stand” texts. I told him to text me before swanning out of the building.

I got a text a couple of days later: “Fabi gave me ur no. Y did u giv it to him not me?”

The Gold Digger goes to Aldi

Women have wanted to bag wealthy men since long before Kanye’s classic came out – so could I persuade a man to literally hand over his cash to me?

I wanted to investigate the role of money in attraction between modern men and women so became Bethany, who is obsessed with money and is laden with large carbuncle jewellery.

She used her character as a gold digger to see how much of a part money played in relationships

There’s a famous scene in the 1953 film How to Marry a Millionaire in which Betty Grable comes home with huge bags of free groceries because she told some poor sap in the market queue she’d forgotten her purse.

I did the same in the Aldi in Tottenham to see how a man reacted to my audacity.

I heaped a trolley full of booze, chocolate and rose bouquets. I stood in the queue behind a man with purplish, weather-beaten earlobes and a waxed jacket.

His hands were flaked with a clay-like substance. A tradesman of some sort. I politely said hello and we exchanged names.

His was Daryn. I then pulled a distraught face and pleaded: “I’ve stupidly left my purse at home. Could you possibly pay for my shopping for me?”

“Um … What, then you pay me back later?”

Film handout

In the film How to Marry a Millionaire, Betty Grable comes home with bags of free groceries because she told someone she’d forgotten her purse

“Well, no. I thought you just might like to help a lady in distress.”

“You’re mad. That’s going to cost an arm and a leg, all that alcohol.”

“Oh, please. I urgently need these things for a party that’s starting in an hour! I don’t have time to run home and find my purse.”

“Sorry. But it’s not a bad trick, you know. You could try this in a really posh place and maybe get yourself some lovely things. Do it in Marks and Sparks, or Fortiscue and Masonry.”

“You mean Fortnum & Mason?”

“Yeah, whatever that crap is.”

“That’s what a naughty gold digger would do. What do you think of women who are gold diggers?”

“Well you have to be pretty insecure to be a gold digger. Those women don’t really want gifts or money. They want a sort of physical manifestation of their worth. They have extremely low self-esteem.”

“What if she just can’t be arsed to work?”

“Well, that’s just lazy, and that’s unattractive too.”

“Well, I feel that if a man doesn’t spend at least £300 on my first date with him, then he’s clearly not interested in me.”

She tried her luck getting a man to pay for her shopping at the supermarket

“What if he did spend that and you didn’t like him?”

“Oh, I would like him, simply by the fact he’d spent that much.”

“You’re a bit potty, aren’t you?”

“I’m just going to have to leave this trolley, aren’t I?”

“I guess so.”

With that, I gave him my business card. I said I found it delightful chatting with him and that he should buy me afternoon tea.

But alas, the blatant scavenger Bethany got no texts or teas from Daryn.

Jezebel goes to the opera

The dogmatic dating world asserts that men won’t take a promiscuous woman as a partner.

I was investigating this code through the guise of the brazen hussy at the Royal Opera House.

I became Tira West, a “Jezebel” character inspired by Mae West’s persona in the film I’m No Angel, who contorts everything into a naughty innuendo and dresses like a semi-shaven poodle; lots of skin and frou-frou.

As Tira West, a “Jezebel” character, Millicent turned conversation into innuendo and flashed a lot of flesh

In front of me was a man’s nice posterior. I pinched the bum as an ice-breaker. He engulfed himself into the crush of the bar queue to get away from me. Perhaps Tira was being too forward.

I clocked another man. I thought of something outrageous that Tira West might say and floated over.

“God, my nipples are so, so hard after that ballet. All the sex in it was just such a turn-on. The steam coming off my areolas is practically melting the opera house ceiling… I’m Tira by the way.”

“Um, Rob. OK? Sex? Was there sex in this ballet?”

Tira met a man named Rob at the opera and left him her business card to see if he would get in touch

The conversation continued and I flirted with him for a few more minutes before moving on to phase two of the experiment.

I gave him a business card then left him, enjoyed the rest of the ballet and went home.

Tira received a text message the next morning. “Hi, it’s Rob. Have your nipples recovered?”

Her first move was to pinch a man’s bottom – but it didn’t go down well

The Academic goes to Regent’s Park

I went on a sunny lunchtime to Regent’s Park disguised as Nora Marshall, an “academic”.

My Nora was a nuclear physicist. Seeing as my own father is one, I had a vague gist of what they did and could wing it quite easily. The finishing touch was a pair of glasses, the telltale accessory of a heavy reader.

Playing the part of academic Nora, she swooped on a man sat on a park bench

I spotted a man on a park bench who was entranced by his mobile screen. I perched next to him, brandishing my clipboard.

“Good afternoon. I’m Nora.”

“Oh. Christophe.”

“I’m the president of the Society of Plutonium Protection and I’m conducting a habit survey with the public. Would you care to answer a short question?”

“Um, why not.”

“Wonderful. What’s your average seafood consumption per month and what species do you consume?”

“Um, I’m partial to a prawn bhuna at the Indian once a month. That’s about it.”

We giggled at his answer and I went on to say: “You know, I have a personal question also. Do you think men find highly intelligent women intimidating?”

The man she met told Nora that he found stupid people intimidating

“I don’t. But I think some men’s minds are quite phallic. They want to be the informers. The probers. They like to give information. They like women who have receptive minds, like empty vessels. It’s like brain intercourse.”

“Oh! So an intelligent woman would have a phallic mind. A mental strap-on, like a rhino charging towards the men, scaring them off?”

“That’s a good metaphor. But I find stupid women intimidating. People with no imagination are the scary ones.”

I told him how much I had found the conversation intellectually stimulating and slipped him my business card saying I’d like to stay in touch.

Alas, Nora got no texts from Christophe. She had been hoping for an offer of a prawn bhuna date at least.

The Androgyne goes to the pub

Marlo Jolly was an androgynous character I created. In contemporary language, Marlo would most identify with the term gender-neutral.

My Marlo took on the role of the man in classic dating etiquette — buying the drinks, holding open the doors.

As Marlo she went to the pub and bought men drinks

I went to a pub and waited at the bar. My hair is short, brown and “boyish”.

To my right was a pleasant-looking bald man, moon-faced with knuckly hands splayed on the bar. I deepened my voice a semi-tone as I spoke to him. “I’m getting a pint of Guinness, do you want one?”

“Ugh. That’s kind. Nah, I’ll get you one, love.”

“No. I’ll get them. And I’m Marlo, not love.”

She took her inspiration from Marlene Dietrich

“Sorry. Keegan. If you insist, I’ll have a half.”

“You’ll have a pint. No silly girly half!”

I ordered the beers and attempted to spark up a conversation while we waited.

“Do you find femininity attractive?”

“Of course! I’m not gay.”

She deepened her voice and offered to buy a Guinness for the man at the bar

“Would you hate it if you had a girlfriend who dressed like me all the time?”

“Nah, it’s kind of all right, actually. I think it depends on how you carry yourself.”

We continued to chat in a platonic, buddy-like manner until I pulled out the old business card. He changed his tune after that and wanted to buy me more drinks.

I declined and said I was going home and told him to text me. Marlo received a text message at 3am: “I’ve got a bottle of tequila. Want to come over? Keegan. (Three aubergine emojis.)”

And the winner is…

I couldn’t say which of my characters proved the most “popular”, but men did warm to Marlo the most. I think they enjoyed the fact she bought them a drink. Many seemed to take it as a big compliment.

Androgynous Marlo proved a popular hit with the men she met

One had never had the first drink bought by a woman before. It set a positive, pally tone for the chat.

Perhaps the biggest insight was how the experiment helped me in my own life. I no longer felt awkward or needed a drink to chat to strangers.

A constant smile definitely had a positive effect, even when I was only looking at the wine list.

It releases endorphins, brings your mind into the present and gives out social signals that you are “safe” to talk to.

I’m now in a relationship with a man I met, not incognito but as myself, at the William Morris Gallery. Even though I’m not single any more, my experiments will continue.

Follow more of Millicent’s adventures on Instagram: @Millicentbinks

Binky Felstead EXCLUSIVE: Star offers close friend Eyal Booker some Celebs Go Dating advice as she perches on his knee at Pride Of Britain Awards

By

Jason Chester

and
Jessica Green For Mailonline

Published:
12:27 EDT, 30 October 2018

|
Updated:
13:02 EDT, 30 October 2018

Binky Felstead had good company in the form of close friend Eyal Booker as she made her first red carpet appearance without former boyfriend Josh ‘JP’ Patterson on Monday evening. 

The TV personality, who welcomed daughter India with JP last June, was seen perched on his knee as they enjoyed a private conversation at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel, where they attended the 2018 Pride of Britain Awards. 

Binky, 28, is understood to be friends with the Love Island star through her former boyfriend, and sources claim she was on hand to give him some well-meaning advice after watching his latest TV endeavour.

Listen to me: Binky Felstead gave old friend Eyal Booker some well meaning advice after catching up with the Love island star at the 2018 Pride of Britain Awards on Monday evening 

An insider told MailOnline: ‘Binky sees Eyal like a little brother. He’s also good pals with her ex JP. There’s no bad blood between any of them; she hadn’t seen Eyal in a while and wanted to catch up. 

‘Binky was giving him tips on dating, having been watching him on Celebs Go Dating. They were laughing about how he’s not doing too well on the show with the ladies so it was time for some sound advice from Binks.’ 

And with an arm wrapped around her waist, Eyal appeared to be listening after the pair help celebrate the nation’s unsung heroes at the annual event.

Friends: The TV personality, who welcomed daughter India last June, was seen perched on his knee as they enjoyed a private conversation during the event at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel 

Happy to help: ‘Binky was giving him tips on dating, having been watching him on Celebs Go Dating,’ a source told MailOnline 

Leaving her one-year-old daughter at home, Binky turned heads after hitting the red carpet in a slinky bustier number that made the most of her hourglass shape.

She wore a plunging black gown with a sheer fabric triangle to showcase her ample assets.

Binky made sure to keep all eyes on her gorgeous ensemble as she forewent any accessories.

She highlighted her good looks with a smokey eye makeup look and clear gloss lippy, while her radiant brunette locks were left in loose waves.

Wow! Binky showed former beau JP what he was missing as she attended the Pride of Britain Awards on Monday evening 

Speaking in September, Binky confirmed that it was with a ‘heavy heart’ that she and JP had called time on their relationship, a year and a half after welcoming their only child. 

She wrote on Instagram: ‘Hi guys, we have some news to share with you and we wanted you to hear it from us, so that things don’t get twisted by hear say or speculation.

‘So with that in mind, it is with a heavy heart we have to tell you that we have decided to separate as a couple. We are still a family and India is, and will always be the absolute light of our lives.’

Simply beautiful: She wore a plunging black gown with a sheer fabric triangle to showcase her ample assets

Binky has since spoken about her heartbreak and in an exclusive chat with MailOnline, the reality star insisted that there’s ‘no drama’ between the former-couple, and that everything’s ‘just fine’.

‘We’ve both been really amicable,’ she said on Monday. ‘Josh is still seeing India whenever he wants. This will absolutely not affect her. He still comes over and we put her to bed together.

‘So actually, not much has really changed.’

Still close: In an exclusive chat with MailOnline, the Made In Chelsea star insisted that there’s ‘no drama’ between the former-couple, and that everything’s ‘just fine’

Like so many people, Shannon Bradley-Colleary was a child of divorce. While her parents were very loving, and the dust eventually settled, as an adult she found herself repeating some of the bad dating patterns and dysfunctions she saw as a child. After two painful relationships, she realized she didn’t know what she was doing and that she had to find a way to make better decisions for her future.

Shannon looked inside herself for the courage to change her life. In her 30s, her love life did a complete 180, and she met the man she would later marry. They have been together over 20 years now and have two teenage daughters.

As a happily married woman and mother, Shannon began writing about her perspective on love and discussing how her pain and disappointment was the rocket fuel behind her love story. This message resonated with readers, particularly single women, who needed advice and support.

Shannon’s blog, cheekily titled The Woman Formerly Known as Beautiful (TWFKAB), quickly took off. When she saw her love advice columns were the most popular, she created a coaching site and ShannonColleary.com so she could reach readers who have struggled with love and relationships. This led to a thriving career as a certified coach, public speaker, bestselling author, and friendly blogger.

“I’m not a lofty person preaching from on high,” she said. “I don’t judge you because I’ve been where my clients are, and I know how hard it is to change. My goal is to help women and men choosing toxic love to forgive themselves, accept the reality of their situation, and ask for help. I certainly make suggestions based on what’s worked for me — but each client is different and needs to be met where they are.”

The Newsletter Discusses Dating With a Sense of Humor

Shannon writes as if she were sitting on the couch and sharing a glass of wine with her best friends in the world. She lets her guard down when talking about her experiences and expresses her takeaways clearly and with a fair amount of humor. Her blog is a place for contemplation as well as laughter.

Whether she’s writing about the tell-tale signs of love addiction or the benefits of midlife married sex, Shannon relates to her audience first and advises them second. Her confessional blogging style is compelling because it shows readers that change is possible and that they’re not the only ones facing these heartbreaking issues.

“You can never change someone else,” she said. “You have to change yourself first.”

The Woman Formerly Known as Beautiful blog offers a humorous and mature take on love.

If you’ve perused the blog and want more Shannon-esque guidance, you can always sign up for the weekly newsletter to get upbeat and constructive dating advice sent to your inbox. Her newsletter currently has over 3,500 subscribers, and she said her open rate is encouragingly high. For Shannon, it’s all about demystifying dating for singles, especially women, who feel stuck, alone, and undervalued.

“If our paradigm for relationships is damaged, we can get confused,” she said. “A lot of people are pleasers, and they honestly don’t know how to recognize toxic behavior.”

That’s where Shannon comes in. Her down-to-earth yet sure-footed tone informs readers without talking down to them. She isn’t a self-proclaimed guru telling people how to live their lives. She’s a woman who has overcome her own obstacles and wants to do her part to help others enjoy similar triumphs.

“I feel very maternally protective of my audience,” she told us. “I want to give them a big hug, and I want them to feel safe because they know I’ve been where they’re at.”

Shannon has taken on private coaching clients in the past,and she said she could see herself offering group coaching sessions someday in the future. Right now, however, her focus is on writing with compassion, clarity, and charisma.

Sharing Experiences & Insights in a Self-Help Book

Once her blog took off, Shannon realized she could positively influence daters by telling them about her experiences falling into bad relationships and then falling in love. So that’s what she did. She wrote “She Dated the #Asshats But Married the Good Guy” as a memoir with actionable dating tips and love lessons in every chapter.

Shannon combines research and anecdote in her book about healthy relationships.

The main purpose of Shannon’s self-help book is to help readers identify their dating patterns and eradicate unhealthy habits. The book outlines 12 steps to take readers from toxic love to fulfilling relationships. She zeroes in on the insecurities and misconceptions that keep singles in bad relationships, and then challenges readers to change their perspectives so they can change their lives.

“My book resonates with people who want to change who they are in the dating world, psychologically and emotionally speaking,” she said.

Her book has been an inspiration to single men and women from all walks of life. In fact, 95% of its Amazon reviews give it five stars.

“It demystifies codependency,” said one satisfied customer. “I highly recommend this book to anyone preoccupied with changing or controlling their partners.”

Shannon’s talent for writing has driven her blogging career forward, establishing her as a relatable voice in the dating industry, but now, as luck would have it, she has returned to her original passion of screenwriting. A script she wrote years ago has been picked up by Warner Brothers, and she is currently dealing with that whirlwind of stress and excitement.

Looking to the future, Shannon said she sees a lot of opportunities on the horizon to tell a story, make people smile, and spread a positive message to the world. She plans to grow her online audience by developing do-it-yourself coursework and group sessions focused on empowerment and education.

A Hopeful Message Helps Singles Heal Broken Hearts

Shannon described her core audience as singles ranging in age from 25 to 50. They’re relationship-ready but just haven’t found that special person yet. Many readers are women who feel their biological clocks are ticking and want to accelerate the path to love. They show up to the blog looking for answers, comfort, and support, and Shannon offers a down-to-earth perspective on love, dating, and relationships. She encourages singles to follow their hearts and remember that dating should be fun.

After reading her blog, a lot of readers say they feel lighter and more optimistic. “Your blog is amazing!” wrote Inez Coffman in a comment. “I cannot stop laughing! You are hilarious and so true to heart.”

Ali Kaufman stumbled upon Shannon’s blog in 2012 and found it brightened her day. “Thank you for the laughs,” she wrote. “Love your style. Thanks for making our age look so G-damn good. Wishing you much success and happiness.”

Shannon’s blog has a section dedicated to issues involving love, sex, and dating.

Another TWFKAB reader gushed, “You have a way of putting into words what I don’t even realize I feel. Your honesty is refreshing.”

Honesty and positivity are very much essential to Shannon’s blogging style. She prides herself on speaking the truth with a wry smile and a dash of wit. She aims to be like a supportive BFF to singles out there.

“I’d love to leave a message of hope with them,” she said. “I want to tell singles who are struggling that the relationship you think isn’t possible is possible — it just requires work and commitment.”

Shannon Bradley-Colleary is a Relatable & Wise Mentor

Shannon’s fairy-tale ending didn’t fall in her lap. She had to do a lot of growth work to make it happen. She had to leave the wrong guys and commit to finding the right guy for her. Now she is happily married and can lend her experience to singles struggling to recognize what’s going wrong and how they can fix it.

As a blogger, author, and certified life coach, Shannon has inspired many modern singles to take a hard look at themselves and then take action to improve their love lives. Rather than portray herself as an all-knowing dating guru, Shannon tells her readers that she’s just like them and understands what they’re going through because she has gone through it too.

“As soon as you commit to your emotional, mental, and spiritual health, you can change your life,” she said. “And it doesn’t have to be my path. There are a lot of paths available once you start to look for them.”