(Last Updated on May 24, 2020 by Datezie Editors)
If life was in fact a romantic comedy in 2020, you would find yourself recently single, decide to download a dating app and somehow, match with a celebrity. The two of you would banter and flirt, meet up for a super-secret drink, fall in love and become instant media darlings. Too good to be true, right? Probs. While there is a dating app that’s supposedly the only one movie and music stars use, there’s a very low chance any of us average Joes will ever be accepted.
Enter: Raya.
This app was founded in 2015 and is widely known as the destination for the private and the elite. While sure, it’s slogan says it’s about ‘dating, networking and making new friends’—it’s been connected to some high-profile A-listers right from the very beginning. To name drop a few: Channing Tatum, Drew Barrymore, Amy Schumer, Ben Affleck, John Mayer, Kelly Osbourne, Joe Jones, Trevor Noah, Cara Delevingne—and more.
The founder, Daniel Gendelman, was purposeful when he created this community, hoping to “curate digital dinner parties” that only featured the most intriguing, sophisticated and talented people. AKA: celebs!
Because of this, Raya is incredibly difficult to become a part of. Their application process takes less than twenty minutes to complete, but everyone is placed on a waiting list from the start. Then, an anonymous committee of 500 people around the world verifies identities and decides who will be given the green light. Anyone flaunting their wealth all over Instagram—say, like influencers—are typically not allowed in. Some stars from The Bachelorette and The Bachelor also claimed they couldn’t earn a spot. According to their site, judges are looking for “that hard-to-describe ‘something extra’—NASA scientists, cancer researchers, poets, painters.” (And probably Brad Pitt.)
Though the actual figure is unknown, some reports share there are more than 100,000 people on the waiting list, and only a whopping 8 percent are accepted. The dating pool is small compared to other swiping apps, coming in around 15,000.
We don’t know about you—but we’re tempted to apply just to see if we can make it into this coveted place. Learn more about Raya here.
