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Tell us: have you used AI to help with online dating?

15 October 2026 at 12:47

From chat-up lines to social coaching, we’d like to hear from people who use AI to assist them navigating the online dating world

We’d like to understand more about the different ways that people are using AI to assist with online dating.

Perhaps you have used an AI assistant to help with chat-up lines? Or you may have turned to one for some social coaching? However you have used AI for online dating, we’d like to hear all about it. What worked and what didn’t?

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© Photograph: Kiichiro Sato/AP

© Photograph: Kiichiro Sato/AP

© Photograph: Kiichiro Sato/AP

A dating app that lets random strangers match users? Sign me up! | Polly Hudson

11 October 2026 at 00:00

On Rivet, volunteers get to choose who they think are the most suitable suitors. For an interfering busybody like me, this is a match made in heaven

Sometimes it’s extremely hard to mind your own business. However, we all know that ideally we should, and most of us give it a bloody good go. So when the universe rewards us with an opportunity to do the opposite, it must be grabbed with both hands and cherished like the precious gift it is.

New dating app Rivet lets a random group of volunteers pick users’ matches, AKA gives interfering busybodies who think they know best free rein over strangers’ love lives. I mean, where do I sign up? This is the chance frustrated matchmakers like me have been waiting for, once their supply of single friends has been exhausted (in both senses).

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© Photograph: Cavan Images/Getty Images/Cavan Images RF

© Photograph: Cavan Images/Getty Images/Cavan Images RF

© Photograph: Cavan Images/Getty Images/Cavan Images RF

The moment I knew: We were babysitting my younger siblings and he wore a tutu to make them laugh

10 October 2026 at 15:00

When Sarah Maloney’s primary school crush danced back into her life, she braced for a ‘teenage whirlwind romance’. Then one night, she realised they were both all in

In 2017 I was 16, went to an all-girls Catholic school in Melbourne and had zero tolerance for teenage boys and their nonsense. Instead I spent a lot of gossip time lamenting Jake, who broke my tiny heart in primary school and then moved hours away.

A debutante ball was coming up. It was an expensive tradition that was fundamentally at odds with my values but I couldn’t say no to a pretty dress and dancing – I was a teenage girl, after all. Some friends asked cousins or co-workers from our part-time jobs to be partners. I got knocked back by everyone. When I complained to my mother, she let me know Jake had moved back to town, and did she want me to ask his mum if he would be willing?

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© Photograph: Supplied

© Photograph: Supplied

© Photograph: Supplied

Blind date: ‘Most awkward moment? When she squished an insect that was on my forehead’

10 October 2026 at 01:00

Holly, 42, a horticulturist, meets Graeme, 47, a forest manager

What were you hoping for?
Really, just a fun night with minimal awkwardness was my fairly low expectation before the meeting.

First impressions?
A very positive, engaging lady with a beautiful smile.

What did you talk about?
Growing food, the joys of seeds, birdwatching, the failings of young people when it comes to proper raving, epigenetics and breaking generational cycles.

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© Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

© Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

© Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

This is how we do it: ‘My mistress has complete control over me and makes me so happy’

4 October 2026 at 06:00

LD is the submissive to Lady Alice’s dominatrix – and it has been a revelation for them both

• How do you do it? Share the story of your sex life, anonymously

I have cerebral palsy and live with my parents. Lady Alice is a delicious secret

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© Illustration: Ryan Gillett/The Guardian

© Illustration: Ryan Gillett/The Guardian

© Illustration: Ryan Gillett/The Guardian

The moment I knew: As a reality TV contestant, I was allowed one 15-minute call a week. Even at 3am, Chris would always pick up

3 October 2026 at 15:00

Conor Curran’s first date with Chris lasted nine hours but their relationship remained casual. Then, when Conor was at his most vulnerable, Chris was there for him

At 29 I had lost my career in hospitality because of Covid and decided to throw my hat in the ring as a contestant on MasterChef Australia. By the time I was eliminated in 2021, restaurants still weren’t open and I didn’t know what to do with my life. My lease was coming to an end in Melbourne and I wasn’t doing well with the lockdowns and people recognising me from TV. So I decided to retreat to my father’s place in Adelaide for a while.

By early 2022 I was dating a guy but, after a few months, he ghosted me suddenly.

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© Composite: Guardian design/Getty Images

© Composite: Guardian design/Getty Images

© Composite: Guardian design/Getty Images

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