Mallory Love: Matchmaking, Intention, and Human Connection
Mallory Love has always been interested in people. How they think. How they choose partners. Why connection works for some and feels impossible for others. It’s what ultimately led her to matchmaking, even if it wasn’t the original plan.
“I definitely didn’t plan for this to be my journey or my path through my life and my career,” Mallory says. “I just sort of fell into it and it obviously all worked out for the best.”
With a background in cultural anthropology and a deep curiosity about human behavior, Mallory found herself drawn to work that sat at the intersection of psychology, strategy, and connection. She began her career working for a small matchmaking company in Austin, Texas, focused on gay men, a space that shaped how she approaches relationships today.
“It was a great place to start,” she explains. “Especially being a straight woman… figuring all of the dynamics out for matching LGBTQ+ was interesting. And I think it set me up now that I match everyone across the board.”
Today, Mallory is the founder of Match Made by Love, a dating and relationship brand rooted in intentionality and care. Her work goes far beyond introductions.
“It’s a lot of detective work. It’s a lot of therapy. And it’s a lot of strategy,” she says.
For Mallory, matchmaking is about deeply understanding people and reading between the lines of what they say they want and what they actually need.
“My favorite thing to do as a matchmaker is this part. I get to sit down and have fun interviews with you and understand who you are and why you do the things that you do.”
She’s quick to clarify that matchmaking isn’t magic, and it isn’t instant.
“I’m not a magician, but I’m really good at my job,” she says. “It’s kind of an art form. It’s not an exact science.”
One of the biggest misconceptions she encounters is the idea that hiring a matchmaker guarantees immediate results.
“We are not Amazon Prime. We are not a pizza delivery service,” Mallory says. “I’m not going to be able to just create your perfect person and put it on your doorstep the next day.”
Instead, she emphasizes patience, readiness, and self-work.
“Just because you go to your therapist for one session and you have a little bit of a breakthrough doesn’t mean you’re healed,” she explains. “You still have to show up for yourself.”
Throughout the conversation, Mallory returns again and again to the idea that modern dating suffers from over-analysis and unrealistic expectations.
“We all need to calm down a little bit and give some grace,” she says. “Everyone dates differently. Everyone is different.”
She sees people miss out on meaningful connections by focusing too narrowly on surface-level criteria.
Her advice is rooted in compassion, clarity, and communication.
“Communication and consistency is key,” Mallory says. “If you’re not feeling a person, if you are feeling them, you need to be able to communicate that and be clear and direct.”
And perhaps most importantly, she reminds people to stop chasing validation instead of true compatibility.
“Stop trying to be chosen by people that you wouldn’t even choose yourself if you were thinking clearly,” she says.
Despite the challenges of modern dating, Mallory remains deeply hopeful.
“Love is universal. And everyone wants to be loved and deserves to be loved,” she says. “What I do is inherently human.”
When asked how she makes waves, her answer is simple and aligned with everything she’s built.
“I make waves by bringing people together and finding love where you potentially didn’t expect it.”
This story was created by Making Waves Project as part of Ways We Love, our February series exploring the many forms love takes in our lives. From romantic and platonic relationships to self-love, care, intimacy, and connection, these stories highlight how love is practiced, learned, and expressed in deeply personal ways.
Through these conversations, we hope to expand the definition of love beyond expectation and highlight the ways it shows up in everyday moments, relationships, and choices. Love is not one thing, and it looks different for everyone. These stories invite us to slow down, listen closely, and reflect on how we give and receive it.
If you or someone you know has a story about love that deserves to be shared, we would love to hear from you. And if you are a brand interested in partnering with us to help tell more stories like this, reach out at hello@makingwavesproject.com.
Follow along with Ways We Love on our Instagram and YouTube, and explore more stories at makingwavesproject.com/stories.
Photography by Robiee Ziegler
Produced by Katie Caro
