After five years of running that business together, Jason went through a dark period following the loss of his father and his job, and began pulling away from Mindy. Her gut told her something was wrong — and she eventually learned he was having an affair with her best friend, who was also their office manager. During the separation, Mindy had to figure out how to raise two kids and run a business entirely on her own.
Once she'd settled into her new normal, Mindy's mom encouraged her to start dating again — something she'd never really done as an adult. She ended up in a relationship with someone worse than her ex for three years. During Covid, she started listening to Bela on Instagram every week and related to everything she heard about dating patterns and self-worth. At the end of 2021, sick of being sick and tired, Mindy decided to take the steering wheel of her own dating life and reached out to Smart Dating Academy.
Working with her dating coach, Mindy built out a dating funnel and launched her profile on Match on March 7, 2022. That very same day, Mark liked and messaged her. He pursued her thoughtfully — texting, setting up a phone call, and eventually a FaceTime date that turned into an hour of easy, natural conversation. Their first in-person date was at a pizza brewery two days later, and the connection was immediate.
