Mother-Daughter Matchmaking Team

Dec. 28, 2004 — -- If you watch TV reality shows, you'll get the idea that many of us will do nearly anything to find love.

But what if you feel you've tried everything and still have not found a serious romance?

If you're daring and rich enough, the answer might just be with a San Francisco mother-daughter operation called Kelleher and Associates.

"Eighty-five percent of the clients that come to us get involved in relationships," Amber Kelleher told "20/20." She said roughly half of the clients she and her mother have worked with get married in a "short period" of time.

Finding Mr. and Mrs. Right

In the dating world, everyone has their own list of criteria for their potential dates.

Kelleher and Associates attributes its success to a careful selection process while dealing with singles who it considers to be the cream of the crop.

Jill described her clients as people who are, "working on their bodies, they're working on their minds, they're working on their success and they forget … the most important thing in life is who you're going to spend your life with."

When looking to pair people together, the Kellehers said instinct and thorough digging are the keys to a good match. So they sort out the political leanings and eating habits of their clients. They also recognize that appearances matter in dating so they specialize in fashion models, movie moguls and handsome, wealthy chief executive officers like 44-year old Randall Perry.

The divorced dad turned to the Kellehers after recognizing he could use some help. "My sister told me, Randall you have a bad habit, you jump in the deep end with both feet -- every relationship," said Perry. "And I do."

Even Perry's 11-year old son, Alex, admits that his dad has had lousy luck with women.

Seeking the Professionals

Romances can come and go, but how do you know when you actually need to hire a matchmaker?

For San Francisco resident Perry, it wasn't tough to make that decision. "Think about it, where else do you meet people? Do you meet them through introductions through friends? That's one way to destroy a friendship if it all goes horribly wrong," said Perry.

And Jill Kelleher said, by hiring her firm, Perry can be comfortable any gold diggers will be screened out.

But that assurance doesn't come cheap. Depending upon how much you want them to work, the Kellehers charge up to $15,000 for matchmaking services. Perry is paying $5,000 for a year's worth of "quality" dates. Still, he said it is wrong to call it "desperate" to use this service to meet women.

"What's desperate is going to pick-up bars and meeting women and you know, seeing if you can, you know, take them home that night," said Perry. "That's desperate."

First Date

The Kellehers' clients usually insist on strict confidentiality. But in this case, Perry and his three dates, all paying $5,000 each, allowed "20/20" to follow them around on their encounters.

As he set out on his dates, Perry said he was looking to meet a woman with a sense of humor who is athletic and has a "good soul." And he also prefers a blonde, so the Kellehers thought of 31-year-old Karen, a charming business executive and former Ms. Arizona.

She flew to San Francisco to have lunch with Perry on a yacht arranged by the Kellehers. Their first date was not a home run, but not a disaster either.

For Perry's second introduction, the Kellehers chose Cynthia, a 43-year-old public relations executive and widow with three children, who also lives in San Francisco.

Perry and Cynthia spent their first date in a restaurant and by the end Perry was raving about his new acquaintance, calling it a "fantastic date." Despite the success, Amber and Jill had one more woman in mind for their client. They were betting on 39-year-old Marianne, a striking, divorced mother of a 12-year-old son.

Happy Couple?

After his three initial dates Perry decided to narrow down his choices, first by eliminating Karen.

Perry had a nice rapport with both Cynthia and Marianne, who seemed like more of a go-getter. So what did the experts think?

Jill Kelleher said she was putting her hopes on Marianne. "I think they're going to click, the communication thing is just going to be great between them," she said.

Four months after the initial date, Perry was still feeling strongly about Marianne. She was on a book tour in Los Angeles and Perry was so captivated that he traveled 500 miles just to catch up with her. "Our biggest issue together is that we just haven't had enough time," said Marianne. "But the time we spend is amazing."

We checked in again 10 months later and found that Perry and Marianne are still seriously dating. Jill Kelleher was right on target when she picked Marianne.

How did Jill know? Her daughter Amber said it's "intuition."

"And then you just go with it," said Amber. "And nine times out of 10 with my mother I know she's right."

And regardless of the future for this pair, the Kellehers have at least one happy client. Perry said while he "could see spending the rest of his life" with Marianne, he can comfortably say when it comes to the matchmakers, "they've done their job."

For more information: agreatmatch.com