About Datelyst

The guide for dating again

Datelyst is for adults who are dating again. Maybe you're newly divorced, or you've lost a partner. Maybe you're raising kids on your own, or it's simply been a long time and the whole thing looks different now. Most of our readers are somewhere between 30 and 65 and over, and younger readers are welcome too.

We publish plain, practical articles about what dating looks like now: where people meet, how to spot a scam, what to say on a first date, how to tell your kids. We publish real stories from readers who've been where you are. Our two-minute quiz suggests the ways of meeting people that fit your life, and our events page lists singles events near you, each one checked by a person before it goes up.

The newsletter arrives on Sunday mornings, with one story, one pick and one thing to try, matched to your situation.

What Datelyst isn't

Datelyst isn't a dating app or a dating service. We don't host profiles, send messages between readers or arrange matches. We help you decide where to start, then point you to the apps, sites, matchmakers and events that might suit you. We list events that other people run, and we never sell tickets.

Who runs Datelyst

Datelyst is owned by a small US company, which we call Datelyst's parent company. That company also runs a matchmaking service called Spark Twice. You'll see it described everywhere as "Spark Twice. Run by Datelyst's parent company."

We think you should know about that before you read a single recommendation. So we say it here, on our How we make money page, and beside every mention of Spark Twice, in the words "Run by Datelyst's parent company."

That ownership comes with rules we keep. The matchmaking service is never ranked or scored against other services. It only shows up in quiz results when a matchmaker fits your answers, using the same points as every other matchmaker. Your quiz answers and email address are never handed to it.

Rowan Ellis

Our articles, the Sunday letter and quiz result emails are signed by Rowan Ellis. Rowan Ellis is a pen name used by Datelyst's editor.

There's no separate person called Rowan Ellis, so you won't find a photo or a life story here. Our editor works for Datelyst's parent company, and Spark Twice is run by Datelyst's parent company too, so please keep that in mind when you read our picks. Our editor isn't a therapist, doctor or lawyer, and doesn't claim to be. What we do promise is that everything signed by Rowan Ellis has been read, fact-checked and approved by our editor, following our editorial standards. When a question needs a professional, we'll tell you which one.

How we work

Datelyst is a small operation. Our articles are written with AI assistance, then edited, fact-checked and approved by our editor. A person reviews every word before it's published. Every statistic links to its source, and we never invent people, quotes or testimonials. Real stories come only from readers, with their permission.

You can read the details in our editorial standards and how we make money.

Tell us your story

If you've been dating again and something happened that might help someone else, we'd love to read it. Share your story, and read our story guidelines first. You'll see the final version before anything goes live, and you can ask us to take it down at any time.

Get in touch

We read every message. Our contact page lists the right address for each kind of question.