Dating is hard. It’s messy, nerve-wracking and oftentimes discouraging. Researchers are finding that Millennials and Gen Z are dating less, leading to a nationwide loneliness phenomena that has captured the attention of the U.S. Census Bureau.
Single St. Louisans have taken to social media to inquire — and vent — about how dating is difficult. Some say the problem is St. Louis being a “small big city.” It’s difficult to meet people who are more than a degree or two separated from each other.
But the singles have allies in their search for partnership in St. Louis. Brittany Forrest and Simonne Kimble started a community and online platform called Relationship.ish to have open conversations about relationships and create opportunities to network.
Forrest, who moved to St. Louis from Chicago, told St. Louis on the Air that she’s noticed how much social circles overlap in St. Louis. “When I moved here it felt like I was bumping shoulders with people,” she said. “Every time I would meet somebody [other friends] would be like, ‘You know, that’s my cousin.’”
The duo behind Relationship.ish shared their personal experiences with dating in St. Louis and discussed how they talk about relationships with their site’s audience. While dating can be maddening, it isn’t always a negative experience. Dating, Kimble said, “is a pattern of learning. It’s, ‘Who am I?’ ‘Do I really want to be around this [person]?’ It helped my self-love [journey].”
As for building up the courage to dive into the dating pool, Kimble recommends keeping it simple: Have fun. “We all have these boxes we’re trying to check off, and it just ruins whatever it is you’re trying to have with someone,” she said. “Healthy relationships don’t happen overnight. Take your time with people and learn to trust.”
For more with Simonne Kimble and Brittany Forrest, Relationship.ish and the real talk on relationships that come out of their community events, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Google Podcast, or by clicking the play button below.
Related Event
What: “Talk Your Ish” with Relationship.ish
When: 7 p.m. Feb. 22
Where: Instagram Live
Have a question or comment about romantic relationships? Tweet us (@STLonAir), send an email to talk@stlpr.org or share your thoughts via our St. Louis on the Air Facebook group, and help inform our coverage.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Roshae Hemmings is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
