Valentine's Day Dating Tips From Patti Stanger and Paul Carrick Brunson

Valentine's Day is Saturday and love is in the air.

By
AMANDA KEEGAN
February 12, 2015, 8:02 AM ET
3 min read

— -- Valentine’s Day is Saturday and love is in the air.

Relationship experts Patti Stanger and Paul Carrick Brunson appeared on “GMA” Thursday to give Audra Strafella some tips on finding love.

Strafella, 37, is an executive assistant who gave up Las Vegas dating games to move to New York City. She’s ready to find the man of her dreams, but she has a problem.

“I’m very picky,” she said.

Scroll down for the experts' tips.

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Strafella said she’s usually attracted to “dark-haired, Italian-looking” men. She wants her partner to be a professional who looks the part.

Also on her list of requirements for her prospective partner: a sense of humor, enjoyment of the outdoors and dance, an established career and being commitment-ready.

Strafella, who has a dating profile on the website Plenty of Fish, isn’t meeting the right guys.

Enter Stanger, star of “Millionaire Matchmaker,” and Brunson, a relationship coach and founder of the Paul C. Brunson Agency, a matchmaking firm, who helped pick a date for Strafella.

“I need somebody who is serious, who wants to date somebody for the long term," Strafella said. "The other thing that is important is chemistry."

Strafella was whisked away for a surprise makeover, while Stanger and Brunson interviewed prospective dates for her.

After interviews with several prospects, they chose entrepreneur Kurt McVey. Strafella met McVey for the first time Tuesday night at Strip House, a restaurant in Midtown Manhattan.

Close by were Stanger and Brunson, who watched the pair’s interaction. They even ordered the couple a slice of chocolate cake for dessert. At McVey’s prompting, Strafella fed some to him. After that, Brunson sent a note to McVey, telling him to feed Strafella, and he did.

After the date ended, Strafella told “Good Morning America,” the date went well but she did not want to go out with McVey again. Though McVey wanted a second date with her, Strafella said she didn’t feel a spark.

Here are more dating tips from Carrick and Stanger.

Brunson’s Tips

  • Fellas, plan something (and do it early)! In my early years of marriage I got too comfortable and slipped by waiting until the last minute to plan an activity. Worse, I sometimes pretended to be creative by “making a card” (but only because I had forgotten to buy one) ... all BIG mistakes. Complacency is the enemy of your relationship.
  • The best gift to give is one in your partner’s love language. We all have a love language, according to Gary Chapman. For example, my language is quality time. Give me your undivided time and it’s the best thing on earth for me. Once you identify the language of your partner, show it to them and you’ll truly be conveying love.
  • One of the better places to find gift ideas is Pinterest! I find it fascinating that this social media platform is really a board of aspirations and goals. Pop on to your partner’s Pinterest page and you’ll have their customized wish list.
  • Don’t feel pressured to get in or out of a relationship. This is the time of year when an unprecedented number of relationships start and end simply because of outside pressure (family, friends, etc.). That said, remember your friends are not relationship experts.
  • No matter how much of a curmudgeon people might say you are for it, you don’t have to like Valentine’s Day. I don’t!
  • When on a date, don’t talk politics, don’t use your cellphone, don’t talk with your mouth full.
  • Reciprocate. Listen, then share.
  • Focus on what’s right about someone, rather than what’s wrong.

    • Stanger’s Tips

  • Try to have a good exchange of conversation, but let the man lead a little more. Allow the chase.
  • Don’t talk over your date. Give the date a chance to share and make them feel important and valued.
  • Drink the wine! Let it mellow you out.
  • Let your inner confidence shine through.
  • Don’t overproduce. The unspoken moments are often more powerful.