Heart of Dating is so excited to welcome Gabrielle Ruiz to the show! She is an American actress, philanthropist, producer, activist and champion for the arts. She is known for The CW’s critically acclaimed comedy, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, where she received rave reviews as Valencia Perez. Her most recent project is What Are Friends For podcast, where she produces and co-hosts. You can also catch her on Modern Family, Better Things, Alone Together, Orange Is The New Black, Sesame Street, Law & Order: SVU, and The Filth. She’s performed on Broadway and now spends her time working on her podcasts and advocating for human rights. 

Gabrielle shares her story of how she met her husband ONLINE on today’s episode as well as some fun stories on how she truly had to manage her expectations while still holding on to her standards.

If you’ve ever felt like online dating wasn’t for you… or you just need a good laugh, check out this conversation with Gabrielle!

There’s a trend to generalize about online dating, could you share a little bit of your online dating journey?

• Gabrielle shares how she grew up in a church and walked away from God in college.
• In New York right out of college she had a lot of serious relationships.
• She shares how she always was ready for marriage and always took dating seriously.
• Gabrielle shares her story of falling for really good guys… who weren’t Christians and it didn’t work out for her. She compromised that part of dating.
• After realizing she no longer wanted to compromise, she went online to date

Could you share some tips about online dating?

• Be honest and real online. Don’t lie on your online dating profile to get some superficial matches or receive validation.
• At the end of the day, if the online dating doesn’t work out for you, hold on to knowing that you are enough.
• “Put YOUR heart, spirit, and soul first because that’s what you want to yoke yourself to”
• Just because you’re open to it, doesn’t mean in the first week you’ll meet your spouse… be patient with the process!

How did you meet your husband Philip?

• Gabrielle talks about how she no longer was compromising her values and was very strict with the boundaries she set while online dating.
• She went on Phillips profile and originally wasn’t attracted to his profile, but decided to be open and give him a chance.
• She shares that if she wasn’t willing to be open to some of her other materialistic qualities, she wouldn’t have met him.

Can you explain your thoughts about the “Disney” mindset? 

• The “someday my prince will come” narrative has left some of us feeling like you can’t initiate or take charge of your dating life.
• Yes, women love to be romanced and pursued, but there’s nothing in letting the guy know you’re interested
• Get out of your comfort zone, be intentional, and see what God can do!

What is your final nugget of dating advice?

• Get over yourself and get a therapist.
• Change is good, the world is changing, embrace change… and change how you date!

Connect with Gabrielle!

Follow her on Instagram HERE

Follow her on Twitter HERE

Want to try online dating?

Trying our Digital Dating Program HERE