Nancy's Story: Finding Love After 50, On Her Own Terms

Nancy Hala and David Bruce - The Love Story

A podcast host who'd spent decades dating the same type of man, Nancy had to break a lifelong pattern before she could recognize real love when it finally showed up. In her own words: "My friend and podcast co-host Sheri Salata first introduced me to Bela. Sheri had the idea of bringing Bela onto our podcast, 'The Sheri and Nancy Show,' as our resident dating expert. Our show was about two lifelong friends in our mid-50s trying to live the lives of our dreams. Sheri's idea was that I'd be thrown into the world of online dating to find true love — and I was totally game."

"The moment I met Bela, I fell into friendship-love. She was everything a dating coach should be — bursting with optimism and an unwavering belief that I would find my soulmate. From the photo shoot to the in-depth meeting where we unraveled my decades-old history of always dating the wrong guy, all of it was transformative."

About a year after working with Bela's team, Nancy moved from LA to Seattle — but first took a detour to heartbreak town. On a trip home to Cleveland, she unexpectedly reconnected with her first love from high school. "In an instant, I was back into bad habits — dating the flashy narcissist who love-bombed me, with all the drama and highs and lows that come with it. Whenever I was alone, I'd sit and read through my Smart Dating Academy folder, looking at my list of red flags — he had all of them."

She broke it off, and a few months later, sitting in her empty house, she said out loud to herself: "If you want a different love story, you have to look for a different kind of man." One hour later, she had a Hinge date already scheduled that night. David was waiting for her — he'd driven 90 miles from Bellingham. "Here he was — quiet, almost shy, but funny and smart. And a man who would drive four hours round trip to take a chance on love. No big life-of-the-party persona. No love bombing. No crazy talk."

"I think I met David at that exact moment for one reason: I was finally ready. This quietly confident, caring man was like a dream come true — truly 'High GHQ,' as we say at Smart Dating Academy." On September 18, 2021, David and Nancy were married. "I wanted a different love story. So I opened my eyes and opened my heart and changed my mindset about everything I thought I knew. I looked for a different kind of man. And I found him. I found the lid to my pot — and a forever friend in Bela."