Giving America a peek behind the curtain of her great and powerful dating service, the Millionaire’s Club, Stanger’s new Bravo show, “The Millionaire Matchmaker,” comes just in time for Valentine’s Day. Because nothing will make you feel better about your own social awkwardness, bad first dates and inability to find “the one” than her array of desperate and dateless clients.
Stanger gave us some (free) advice, so keep reading, but here are a few hints. Men: Call the Olive Garden now before all their Feb. 14 reservations get snatched up. And women: Don’t hold your breath about being whisked away to Paris.
What’s your best advice for women on a first date?
You want to be the kind of person that lets the man lead. Let him pick you up, let him pay for dinner, say thank you at the end. Honestly, when the check comes, go to the bathroom. [Laughs] Every three or four things he asks you, you ask one. It’s got to be uneven so the man feels in power—you’re trying to get his little ding-dong downstairs to get hard!
So you shouldn’t just talk about yourself all night?
When he’s leading the conversation, he feels empowered. When you’re talking at him, he goes to sleep. You ever notice when you’re mad at a guy and you talk too much, he doesn’t listen? But the minute you stop talking, he’s like, “What’s wrong?”
Letting him pay, letting him talk—you’re pretty traditional with your dating rules then?
Yes. But when you’re in an exclusive, committed relationship, you can take turns [paying].
Once you're in a relationship, are there any big tips for keeping the love alive?
You’ve got to have date night. I love Jay Leno, and I read an article about him a few years ago that said no matter how busy he is, he does date night once a week. Get a babysitter, put the child to bed at 7:30, and at 8:00, you’re gonna be out the door in your pretty little dress. If you can do date weekend, do date weekend, but it should be once a week. Women want to sit back, smell good, relax, smile…and men, you need to get laid!
What’s the most extravagant date any of your clients has ever set up?
I had one client fly a girl to Paris, and she didn’t know about it. They were dating for three weeks and he had a private plane. He flew her to Paris and they stayed at the George V—she had told him her favorite movie was “French Kiss.” When they got there, he had clothes already laid out for her. He got her sizes from me, and he spent about $5,000 in wardrobe…he had a toothbrush, he had make-up, fragrance, everything…and they spent the entire week there. But it wasn’t [so sweet] because he did all that, it was because he listened.
Valentine’s Day is coming up—probably a busy time for you! What do you love most about the holiday?
Well it definitely makes or breaks a relationship. If you don’t get a little tchotchke, you’re not happy. [Laughs] The holiday is for women. He knows that this is important to you. He needs to pull out the full stops, even if it means taking you to Olive Garden because that’s all he can afford. He needs to make a reservation and say put your pretty dress on, I’m picking you up at seven.
And what do you hate most about it?
I hate the pressure that you have to be totally over-the-top romantic. Romantic to me is like, “Can you give me a little foot rub? Can we cuddle for an hour?” Romantic does not have to be, “I need to make love to you!” like a scene out of a porno movie. And you don’t have to spend a fortune.
Is your service only for millionaire men looking for women? What about all the female millionaires out there?
We have one. I’ve had it open for nine years, and sure enough this year, we had our first one, so hopefully we’re going to get more now. They [just] don’t want to date down—if you’re 40 and you’ve made a lot of money, you want to date Bill Gates, not a janitor!
”The Millionaire Matchmaker” premieres Tuesday, Jan. 22 at 11 p.m./10c on Bravo, then moves to its regular time on Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 10 p.m./9c.
