Guardian Soulmates

[NorthernFlowerHouse]

Hi!

I've been online dating on the free sites for about 10 months now.

Frankly it's not going brilliantly. I've met loads of men, only 3 of whom I really liked. I saw one for 3 months exclusively but the logistics were a problem, one slow faded me after one awesome date and the other announced he wasn't over his ex. I've made some nice guy friends though!

So, I'm thinking of trying guardian Soulmates as i thought it might attract intelligent guys with similar politics to me.

Has anyone tried it? If so, what's the verdict?

Also, when I read the Guardian online there are often ads for Soulmates which appear to be users' profile pics. Does anyone know if they are real profiles and if so, can you opt out of being shown on the main site? I'm not ashamed to be using OLD but don't really want my face plastered all over the Guardian website for everybody I know to see!

I joined it once and there was not one person in the city I lived in on there! Was pointless for me

I have looked at it, and have done the first part of a profile but a bit too scared to post just yet. But one of the questions is do you want to be used in advertising, they sell it as you might get more views if you say yes.

I definitely don't want to be there either!

It's ok but if I'm honest I wouldn't pay for it. Do a profile and see how you get on in terms of receiving messages etc before you pay. I found that there aren't that many people on it and I'm in London!

I don't know about the opting out thing, sorry

Yes, you can opt out of appearing on the main Guardian website.

I've found the quality of men better than the free sites (especially if you're into cultural stuff) and have a couple of friends who met their husbands on there.

Thanks all. I didn't realise you could set up a profile and gauge the response before paying. I will have a look at that.

I know 3 couples who met through Guardian Soulmates and they are all very guardian-y which to me is a good thing :)

One couple married, one couple long-teem happily cohabiting.

Met my last boyfriend on there and my soon to be husband on there too. So I'm a fan!

It seems to attract more cultural/ arty/ bookish/ lefty types which is what I was looking for.

I think any site that makes you pay is going to weed out more of the players pretty quickly.

How old are you? I’m 41 andon GSM. I’ve found it very disappointing. I am being contacted by men (in the main) who are much older than me, much younger than me. The turnover is very low. I think Bumble is better if you are in London - yes you have to scroll through many more profiles before you find someone vaguely compatible.

You can do a free 3 day trial in GSM. They will them send you an offer for 40% discount. Worth a try.

I used GSM about 5 years ago and met a lovely man who I was with up until quite recently. However, he'd signed up with Plenty More Fish, so it seems that everyone is lumped in together - the only thing which differs from one to the other is the interface. As I said, this was five years ago now so it might've changed but I was really quite shocked.

Yes like the pp I was going to say it would be good if you could find out if GSM is the only source of profiles. I met my dh 13yrs ago, I think via Time Out OLD, and there were also people there who had come via (I think) the Telegraph, which is not an obvlous partner. Don't know if they still do this.

Met my husband on there :-)

I met my partner on there and went on lots of dates and had some flings. It was loads of fun! So I would recommend it, although I was seeking a female partner, it might be different for straight couples.

Also met my husband on there 😊

Met a lovely boyfriend on there, only finished as he moved away. Of all the sites I used that was my favourite until I met my husband (quite randomly in a bar after all that OLD!)

Another one who met my husband on soulmates. Mind you, I also met some right weirdos from there before I met DH.

agree with TheKnackeredChef here OP - there is some strange interface thing going on, where one party is signed up to a site, but some how its possible to meet someone who is on a different site all together.
Have tried GSM. One decent match, but it didnt work out
Good luck

I love the idea that we all went on dates with each other’s future husbands and rejected them as odd or not our type or whatever just goes to show, there’s a lid for every pot as my mil would say!

that's true Dolly! I have rejected a few, some with very nice kitchens, and to think it could be MNs cooking the old boy's supper in the nice kitchens now - neither were partial to cooking themselves, so I think the nice kitchens were to lure good cooks in.

Aw it's really heartening to hear the success stories!

I quite liked POF too, but I seem to have been barred! My profile was deleted and when I tried to build a new one, even with a different email addressit was deleted straight away. No idea what I'm supposed to have done! Obviously offended someone inadvertently