HOLLYWOOD—The month of February is always a special month for everyone. It’s when we get to see the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day and the Grammys. Sometimes we have the Oscars in February, however, not this year, due to the pandemic. This year it has been pushed back to April 25, 2021.
For those that are single, you managed to survive Valentine’s Day on February 14, I’m proud of you. I’m sure you witnessed friends and strangers posting flowers, Godiva chocolates, designer bags, balloons as part of the gifts from their significant others. Which really didn’t help those who are single and struggling to find a boyfriend or girlfriend. However, they needed to post it, to boost their self-absorbed egos.
So where do you find your significant other in this pandemic? Many people, including celebrities have been swiping right and left while looking for love. We all know celebrities choose to keep quiet about their love life, however quite a few of them have been turning to dating apps on their quest of finding a significant other. Known as hook-up sites, from Tinder to Bumble to OkCupid, to the exclusive Raya, celebs have been looking for love on some of those sites.
Amy Schumer found love. We have all heard of those average sites, however, Raya, is elusive, mostly for the rich and famous. Launched in 2015, it’s a private, members-only app for dating, networking and making new friends. However, officially known as the celebrity dating app for the rich and famous.
According to published reports, some of the celebrities are: Cara Delevigne, Drew Barrymore, Amy Schumer (who met her husband through Raya), Ben Affleck, John Mayer, Kelly Osbourne, Joe Jonas, Trevor Noah, Lucy Hale, Channing Tatum, Matthew Perry, Sharon Stone, Zach Braff, Lizzo, Patrick Schwarzenegger and many more, have all reportedly been on it.
So how does an ordinary person get on? Unfortunately, you don’t. First you need a referral from a current member, which really means it’s all about who you know. Step 2: have an interesting career. Step 3: you really need to rack up your social media following. Step 4: Win over an anonymous committee. Only about 8 percent of applicants are accepted. It’s the official dating app of A-listers. So if you’re looking to land a Hollywood star, then Raya is the platform for you. Aside from celebs, you can expect to find models, Olympians, fashion designers, YouTubers, celebrity chefs and DJs.
It’s so exclusive and selective that Season 15 Bachelorette Hannah Brown claimed she was rejected from signing up. Once you get passed the elusive vetting process then you have access to an impressive selection of elite suitors. Demi Lovato, has been a longtime user of online relationship sites. In her documentary, “Simply Complicated,” she talked about being on the app after her breakup with Valderrama.
Since then, she’s used the app when she’s single, but in 2020 she tried to rejoin after deleting her profile and she was shut down. Go figure. It’s actually not about the money. Unlike other apps, there’s a fee- a one month membership fee is $7.99, three months is $23.99 and six months $29.99 and it links up to Instagram accounts instead of Facebook.
So you may think it’s relatively inexpensive, not the point, the point is, you need to be accepted, given its exclusive nature and the possibility of hooking up with a celebrity at your fingertips, so there’s a lot of curiosity about what it’s actually like being on the app. According to those who’ve made it into the exclusive app, you set up a profile that includes a romantic PowerPoint presentation of selfies accompanied by a backing track.
Instead of swiping right, a match will only be made if both parties tap the heart icon. Since privacy is key to the success of the app, so any users ever try to screenshot a match, they will instantly be threatened with the “suspension and /or removal of your membership.”
Rose’s Scoop: If you haven’t watched “Framing Britney” you are missing out. The hit documentary explores the frenzy surrounding the pop star since she was 10 years old.
