Inside Bethenny Frankel’s elite dating club in South Florida (no swiping necessary)
Bethenny Frankel wants to improve your life, one Instagram and TikTok post at a time.
Whether it’s showing her online besties (aka “nosy b’s”) how to score bargains on designer bags at TJ Maxx or sharing “supermodel snack” hacks in her PJs, the “Real Housewives of NYC” alum can never be accused of gatekeeping.
Frankel’s latest venture goes beyond tips and tricks in the kitchen and the discount department stores. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, she launched a dating platform called The Core.
Hinge, Bumble and Tinder, this is not. There’s no swiping involved. Way too pedestrian.
The Core is more like an insider’s club that hooks up “curated” singletons at fancy parties around South Florida and beyond. The website describes it as “a society of intention” in the high-tech era.
Membership is pricey, starting in the $7,500 range. While the amount may sound staggering, it’s a bargain compared to what say, “Millionaire Matchmaker” Patti Stanger charges for her services, $45,000 and up.
But shelling out the dough doesn’t automatically grant access; potential members are vetted through a rigorous application process.
To be Core-worthy, you’ll need a referral from someone in Frankel’s circle, plus a strong social media presence, and definite cred in society.
Applicants are also required to answer delving questions right out of the gate, e.g. “Will you commit to interact with integrity and respect?” In other words, don’t play head games, ghost, or be shady.
After the initial inquiry is out of the way, you’re “accepted” and the fee is paid, the introductions will soon roll in from a team of eight expert “connectors.” The current crop of “high achieving” singletons (there are currently 150-plus active users) is A-grade, Frankel promises. You can either meet your potential soulmate one-on-one or at a Core gathering throughout South Florida.
Lonely hearts will need to hurry: The next event is in Palm Beach later this month. Sources say the guest list is expected to include a mix of high-profile figures from the entertainment, tech and sports industries.
“Our community is made up of adults who show up fully and follow through. Only the right people belong here,” says a post on the platform’s Instagram page alongside a video of Frankel being her usual, refreshingly frank self, peppering in some NSFW language.
“We’re really strict because it’s so scary out there,” Frankel told the Miami Herald.
The impetus for the new venture? The twice-divorced mother of one had her own share of dating nightmares and doesn’t want others to feel her pain.
“Once, I was set up with a deadbeat dad whose ex-wife supports him, and he asked me to pick him up in my car,” recalled the Bravo legend. “Another guy refused to give me his last name. The list goes on.”
The Core’s first event was an invite-only, haute dinner packed with hopeful minglers at the Moore Building in the Design District in January. The reason for the launch in the 305 was obvi.
“We’re in the middle of winter and Miami has this warm, sexy vibe,” says the newish Florida resident, who moved to Boca Raton last year. “There’s all these different energies going on at once, very scene-y.”
Frankel reports that plenty of cellphone numbers were exchanged, and guests told her they preferred meeting like-minded individuals #IRL.
“We don’t pair, like, a rich guy wanting to meet a hot girl,” the SkinnyGirl founder explained. “I want everyone in the room to feel as if they’re in a safe space, and not a moving target.”
Not all members (ages range from 20s to 70s) are in the 1 percent, but all have been thoroughly screened.
“Everyone you’re talking to is a potential life partner,” she promised. “We’ve turned down wealthy, stunning people who were flagged because they may not have the best intentions. Others were accepted because they’re philanthropists or teachers. Good, decent human beings.”
Frankel feels for anyone looking for The One in the Magic City, which maintains a worldwide rep of being shallow and materialistic (despite much of the city being suburban sprawl). It takes effort, but it’s possible.
“You’ve got the men that are very flashy-cashy who have just sold something and think they’re a big deal,” she said. “Then there are the big-game-hunter women coming in, too. But there’s quality if you look hard enough.”
Frankel likens her latest project to “a sociology experiment,” in which she has to put a puzzle together: If one piece doesn’t fit, try it somewhere else.
“Someone doesn’t like you? Or you don’t like them? Introduce them to someone else or vice-versa,” she said. “Don’t be sensitive! Keep it moving.”
The Core already has one success story.
Jake Leschly, a 59-year-old divorced father of two adult children, was referred by an ex-girlfriend, who thought he was a catch even though they didn’t pan out.
“It was like one-degree-of-separation thing,” said the Danish businessman who lives half the year in Palm Beach, the other in Aspen. He was matched with Palm Beach hatmaker Kai Lassen; the two first clicked over a marathon texting session, then made googly eyes at each other over coffee.
“We had already covered so much territory before actually physically meeting, I felt like I knew her,” Leschly said. “The Core was spot-on to put us together. Kai is wonderful.”
Lassen is so on the same page, and forever grateful to Frankel for freeing her from the dating-app quagmire. She may even be getting a wedding invite soon by the sound of it.
“After years of missed matches, bad dates, and zero luck with traditional matchmaking companies, I had made peace with the idea of being on my own,” said the former model. “Then, in a plot twist I never could have imagined, it took a reality star-slash-businesswoman powerhouse to change the game and connect me with my forever person.”
