One booth taught divorcees how to “InvestiDate,” a simple art of background checking a new boyfriend to see if he was actually a conniving rake or a compulsive gambler. “InvestiDate” was coined by Maria Coder, a former Associated Press reporter who suffered her own heartbreak when she discovered her boyfriend was hitting up 36 women on Facebook for sexual favors.
“It was 36 in one month. It was all my heart could take,” said Ms. Coder.
We ventured a visit to “Get Back in the Dating Game,” a how-to workshop hosted by Amy Laurent, a professional matchmaker and a co-star of the upcoming reality Bravo! series Miss Advised.
Wearing a form-fitting purple dress, a pair of cream-color Prada heels and a diamond ring (not engagement) large enough to plug a manhole, Ms. Laurent looked suitably dressed for, well, an appearance on a Bravo show.
Instead, she implored the predominantly female audience to move away from their ex-loves and jump back into the dating game.
“Get rid of those pajamas, change into something else and get out of the house!” said Ms. Laurent.
To conclude, she wished the crowd good luck, and the show ended with Cee Lo’s censored version of “Fuck You” playing in the background. The event staff started clearing away chairs as we spoke with Julia Attison, a woman who sat in front of us during the entirety of Ms. Laurent’s workshop.
Ms. Attison, a copywriter from West Babylon, was married at age 22 and divorced by age 35 (“He was self-absorbed, but mostly in an autistic way,” she said of her ex-husband). Now 38 and single for the past three years, she forced herself to go on dates with divorced people like herself.
“I’ve gone on a lot of dates where they’ve done nothing but ex-bash,” she said.
She was disappointed in the turnout at the expo, which was largely female, save for a few shell-shocked men who navigated the event by themselves.
“When it comes to self-help, it’s mostly women who come here,” said Ms. Attison.
