It was December 2016, when I met this group of 4 from Delhi while backpacking across North India,
During the conversation amidst the stunning backdrop of Jaisalmer fort, I casually mentioned that I’m associated with TrulyMadly. Pleasantly surprised,they revealed that Ravnita & Anubhav had met on TrulyMadly in October 2015 and started dating in May 2016. This was the first time I had run into someone who had met their partner on TM.
(Strangely, if I now go to a large enough gathering and don’t stumble upon a successful story , I am somewhat disappointed .)
Ravnita & Anubhav later got married in Feb of 2018.
Interestingly, Sneha from the same group messaged me and told me how she also met her partner on TM in Feb of 2017 and got married to him in July of 2018.
But the story doesn’t end here…
Last week, I got re-connected with Ravnita and she messaged me “You know, I know 4 more married couples who had met through Truly Madly!! And all are my family and friends”
I was amazed. Like I knew about Sneha already, but 3 more couples in the same group. That was a first for me!.
First Ravnita’s ex-room-mate, then Anubhav’s older brother, and now even Anubhav’s younger brother is set to tie the knot, this year, all through TM.
Yes, we are the official matchmaker of the “Minocha family”.
What’s common between all these stories? If they wanted to get married why did they join a dating app and not a matrimony website?
“Because Matrimony websites are just digital form of arranged marriages, where the conversation starts with parents asking your Caste, Gotra & Salary. It feels very uncomfortable and transactional” says Ravnita.
Millennials today don’t want to get into an arranged marriage setup. They don’t want to meet and talk to parents on Matrimony Sites. You obviously can’t find love on Hook-up apps, then where do you go?
If you are in your late 20s and want to meet genuine people who have the intention of finding a partner but not an agenda of just getting married right away, then hookup apps/matrimony sites won’t make any sense to you!
Where do you go if you want to find your forever partner, for and by yourself.` That’s where serious dating apps come in.
We observed this pattern in almost all of our success stories :
They get a match.
They chat on TM for a few days.
They exchange numbers once they are comfortable talking to each other They talk on call/whatsapp for a few weeks.
They plan their first meeting in a public place or a cafe.
If things go well, they start dating and as the relationship matures, involve parents after a courtship of 6-12 months.
We are the first generation of India which is responsible for their own marriages.
We are the first generation of India, which has shunned the concept of “Right age to get married”.
We are the first generation of India, which doesn’t equate “Settle in life” to “Get married” We marry, when we feel we are ready, with the person we feel is right for us.
But is this limited to just the metro cities? NO!
Let me introduce you to another favorite couple of mine, Shraddha & Sushil!
Shraddha from Varanasi and Sushil from Lucknow matched in 2016 and became good friends. The friendship soon blossomed into love even when miles apart. They finally tied the knot in 2017.
Some interesting facts about Online Dating in India :
- Males like 10 out of every 13 profiles shown to them, while Females like only 1 in 13 profiles.
- Like rate on Male profiles varies from 0% to 45% with average being 8%
- Like rate on Female profiles varies from 45% to 99% with average being 77%
- Oldest paying male on TrulyMadly is 69 years young
- 70% of our active user base is 26 & above & 50% is 28 & above
- Most used hashtag by Males – #WanderLust
- Most used hashtag by Females – #Sapiosexual
- 37% increase in online dating brand queries vs 13% increase in interest for matrimony brands – Report by Google – “Year in Search – India”
The thoughts expressed in the above piece are author’s personal thoughts and Next Big Brand is not responsible for any opinion expressed.
