Issue 34: A wellness consultant turned dating coach and matchmaker who loves her organic mints

The dating coach and matchmaker who’s minty fresh.

“When you are dating and coaching, you are definitely matchmaking as well.” -Kelly Bonanno

This week’s guest comes at an interesting point in the podcast. In 2019 and 2020, I shared some tips and best practices on dating in the app era. Since then, my viewpoint has changed as I’ve seen enough research, and heard enough anecdotal evidence to conclude that dating apps aren’t making the search for love any easier. If anything, dating apps have ruined dating. That’s a strong statement but make no quirk about it. The concept of being able to connect with people you otherwise wouldn’t meet has become diluted in a sea of algorithms, skewed perceptions of compatibility, and an overall degradation in basic social skills. In essence, the apps have failed to live up to their promise.

This is where Kelly Bonanno comes in. She’s an eternal optimist, which is a prerequisite for her job as a dating coach and matchmaker. Kelly’s been a wellness consultant for years. Along the way, she discovered that dating and relationship health are an integral component of wellness; so much so that it’s become her new calling.

If there’s hope then it may require going back to old school advice, which you can find in someone like Kelly. If you’re jaded, confused, or simply curious, check out this this week’s episode.

-John

Moving Forward 483: Inspiring individuals: Kelly Bonanno

I first connected with Kelly in 2017 on episode 119. Kelly was a “savvy girl” entrepreneur, focusing on organic beauty, wellness, and eco-friendly clean living. Kelly is still in that space, working with several corporate clients. However, she discovered that health coaching inevitably crosses over into broader life issues, including relationships and dating. Additionally, and since our last convo, Kelly has experienced a lot of shifts in her own life from a divorce to getting back out into the dating world, which has changed dramatically since the last time she was single. Today, instead of “meet cutes” in school, at bars, and elsewhere, we now connect primarily through square icons downloaded onto our mobile devices with names like “Bumble,” “Tinder,” and “Hinge.” If you’re not in this world, these sound like products you might find on TEMU or weird candle scents. I digress.

As Kelly has been navigating this new era of dating, she’s cultivated an interest in how romantic relationships and connectivity are part of our overall wellness. Today, she’s redirected her talents and skills towards becoming a dating coach, and matchmaker. As long as I’ve known Kelly this has been one of her gifts: embracing a self-improvement tenet, diving deep into it, and pivoting to help others.

We cover a lot on this week’s episode, including how dating has evolved (or devolved) with the advent of apps; the growing disconnect between technology’s promise and reality, and why we need to bring back the art of flirting.

This was a fun conversation that will give you new food for thought. And I promise, despite the bleak state of dating you won’t get indigestion. Even cynical me couldn’t help but crack at a smile at Kelly’s enthusiasm. Finally, you’ll learn a quirk that’s on brand with her clean lifestyle.

Catch this week’s episode on Spotify.

Listen to our prior conversation on Moving Forward 119 (May, 2017).

Moving Forward is also available on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeart, CastBox, Pocket Casts, Spotify for Podcasters (formerly Anchor), and Audible.

Some things I learned about and from Kelly:

• The connection between wellness and dating.

• Why Kelly became a life and dating coach.

• The unique opportunities and challenges of dating in the app era.

• The illusion of choice when it comes it dating.

• How prolonged texting can kill dating momentum.

• Why dating apps should be seen as a tool and not the “be all, end all.”

Fun quirk:

• Kelly is addicted to YumEarth organic mints.*

^{*Affiliate disclosure: these are affiliate links to Amazon through which I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.}

Connect with Kelly

• Website

  • Details about Kelly’s upcoming workshop (Oct. 29th and 30th).

  • Book a free coaching session.

• IG

Learn more from Kelly at her upcoming free workshop

Available now at my bookstore on Pangobooks

A novel that harkens back to a simpler time when romance was just schmaltz and melodrama …

Quirky reads 📚

Speaking of books, here are some titles I’ve been reading lately.

[Affiliate disclosure: these are affiliate links to Amazon through which I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.]

• The Future Is Yours by Dan Frey (****)

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Upcoming (Fall 2025)

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Resources

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Books

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• The Poshmark Guide for Individuals and Small Businesses (Paperback, Kindle, Audible) 

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• The Poshmark Journal for Individuals and Small Businesses

• The Corporate Cliches Adult Coloring Book

• I Am a Professional Metalhead (audiobook) (Audible affiliate link) written by Angelo Spenillo, narrated by John Lim

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Affiliate disclosure

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