As Featured In
Maxim
10 Top
Matchmakers
Dating & Relationship Coaches To Follow in 2026

Love is no longer left to chance.

A feature in Maxim spotlights 10 leading experts who are quietly rewriting the rules of romance — and changing the way the world falls in love.

Read the Full Article on Maxim.com  →
The Experts
Emyli Lovz

Emyli Lovz

Co-Founder, emlovz
Data-Driven Dating Coach and Creator of the MegaDating Method

Emyli Lovz is a UC Berkeley alumna and certified relationship coach who developed the MegaDating methodology after going on 101 dates with 52 different men and documenting every insight. Since 2012, her full-service coaching program has helped thousands of singles find love with clarity and confidence, offering support from dating app strategy through to relationship selection, and staying with clients until they find the right person. She recently launched a certification program to train other coaches in the MegaDating method.

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Melanie Shores

Melanie Shores

CEO, Matchmaker and Dating Coach, Modern Mingle
Go-To Matchmaker for Professional Singles Nationwide

Melanie Shores founded Modern Mingle to offer professional singles a process rooted in real human insight rather than algorithms. Every client is personally met, vetted, and genuinely understood before a single introduction is made. Modern Mingle also runs in-person events where chemistry can be observed in real time, something apps simply cannot replicate. A 2026 Consumer Choice Award winner for Dating Services, Shores has helped thousands of professional singles find compatible partners.

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Rachel June London

Rachel June London

VIP & Celebrity Matchmaker, Cinqe Matchmaking
Elite Matchmaker for High-Profile and Ultra-High-Net-Worth Singles Worldwide

A Partner at Cinqe Matchmaking, Rachel June London works with royal family members, presidential candidates, founders, investors, and cultural leaders who require the highest level of discretion and strategic insight. A former number one charting singer-songwriter, she brings exceptional emotional intelligence to high-stakes introductions across continents. Her methodology blends data, behavioral insight, and real-world experience to create deeply aligned partnerships rooted in shared values and genuine compatibility.

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May Bugenhagen

May Bugenhagen

Founder & Elite Matchmaker, Two Asian Matchmakers
Boutique Matchmaker Connecting Accomplished Men with Exceptional Asian and Asian American Partners Since 2009

Since 2009, May Bugenhagen has quietly advised and introduced discerning men to exceptional Asian and Asian American women from her Los Angeles base, with international reach spanning the U.S. and Asia. Every match meets a rigorous 75% compatibility threshold. May invests deeply in understanding the person behind the profile before facilitating a single introduction, and manages all screening and coordination herself. Her core philosophy: she never convinces, she connects.

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Amanda Hood

Amanda Hood

Founder & CEO, The Crush Confidential
Evidence-Based Matchmaker Using a Proprietary Three-Date Model

Amanda Hood built The Crush Confidential around a proprietary evidence-based three-date model that actively guides clients through the earliest and most fragile stage of a new connection. Based in Dayton, Ohio and serving clients nationwide, she combines analytical rigor with human intuition to develop clients, not just match them. Drawing on her background as a college instructor and entrepreneur, Hood ensures clients leave with sharper self-awareness, better dating instincts, and patterns broken that had been quietly costing them for years.

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Claudia Duran

Claudia Duran

VIP Matchmaker
Trusted Matchmaking Advisor for CEOs, Entrepreneurs and Athletes

Coined the Billionaire Matchmaker by Global Billionaire Magazine and named one of MSN's Top Female Disruptors, Claudia Duran serves ultra-high-net-worth individuals as a trusted advisor rather than a traditional matchmaker. Based in Miami with global reach, she brings a decade-long partnership with Elite Connections and a background building global media strategies for brands including Playboy TV International and Jet Edge. Claudia builds introductions based on psychological compatibility, long-term vision, and lifestyle alignment.

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Jill Dunn

Jill Dunn

Matchmaker and Dating Expert, Jillin' It
Bespoke Matchmaking for Relationship-Ready Singles

Jill Dunn founded Jillin' It to serve successful, relationship-minded singles who are exhausted by the cycle of disappointing connections and ready to date with clarity and intention. Based in Connecticut and New York with nationwide reach, she blends elite matchmaking with strategic coaching to create matches rooted in lifestyle alignment, emotional readiness, and long-term potential. Born from her own experience navigating life after divorce, Jill brings personal depth and sharp intuitive insight to every client relationship.

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Dr. Vanessa Vincent

Dr. Vanessa Vincent

Licensed Psychologist & Dating Coach
Clinical Psychologist Helping High-Achieving Professionals Find Lasting Love

With almost a decade of clinical experience spanning individual therapy, couples counseling, and intimacy therapy, Dr. Vanessa Vincent brings a depth to dating coaching that goes well beyond strategy and self-presentation. Frequently partnering with elite matchmaking services including The Standard Agency, she is regarded as a secret weapon in relationship readiness, helping clients move beyond surface-level success into genuine, lasting connection. Dr. Vincent has worked with a diverse range of clientele spanning different cultures, sexual and gender identities, and ages.

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Soniyah Singh

Soniyah Singh

Founder of Finding Bliss & Empowered Matchmaker
Love Researcher, Relationship Coach, Empowered Matchmaker

With over 17 years of Love Research, Soniyah Singh developed Empowered Matchmaking — a practice built on a single truth: when our mindset comes into alignment with our intention, love arrives not as luck but as inevitability. She is passionate about supporting those looking for Love, those just beginning a new connection, and couples who have been together for decades and are ready to intentionally evolve their relationship. Her philosophy is: Be the Love you seek.

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Sandy Sternbach

Sandy Sternbach

Founder & Principal, The Right Time Consultants
Upscale Matchmaker for Ivy-Educated and High-Net-Worth Professionals Ages 40–80

Sandy Sternbach built The Right Time Consultants on an executive search model, offering one of the country's most discreet and personalized boutique matchmaking services exclusively for Ivy-educated, advanced-degree, and high-net-worth professionals. Highly confidential, deeply customized, and conducted with concierge-level attention at every stage, her process is for accomplished singles aged 40 to 80 who are serious about what comes next. Both men and women are welcome to apply for private client membership or join The Right Time's national roster of eligible single professionals.

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