Why I left my ten year teaching career to pursue my passion for matchmaking!
The three most common questions I get from our sociable speed dating guests and fabulous followers are ‘Where did I get the idea for Cheeky Events Australia?’, ‘Where did I meet my perfect partner?’ and ‘What’s next for CEA?’ Well wonder no more as I’m ready to reveal all!
Let’s start from the beginning … .4 years ago I fled my hometown London as a heartbroken 30 year old after the partner I was trying to conceive with “accidentally” got another girl pregnant. Crushed and confused, I quit my Head of Mathematics job in a Primary school and booked a one way flight to Vietnam with my friend Frankie (who also now works for CEA). I had no premeditated plan, no sufficient savings and no real job prospects lined up BUT I KNEW I HAD TO GET OUT OF THE COUNTRY to do some much-needed soul searching. In all honesty, my self-esteem had hit rock bottom and I didn’t trust myself to not get back with the guy who had caused me so much pain. I wondered if all the good guys were gone. I wondered if I could do any better. Spoiler alert- how wrong was I! 🙂
Roll forward a year into my thrilling travels around Asia and Australia and after several months of talking therapy with a life coach, regularly reading sessions on love languages and attachment styles and doing some deep self-discovery to find out what really makes me happy, I FINALLY FELT READY TO DATE AGAIN! Not only did I want to date but I wanted to meet some same-sex singles to hang out with as all
my backpacker acquaintances were only planning on staying short-term and now that I was ready to settle in Sydney I yearned for some genuine long-term connections! See I love love and I always have. In fact even in my teenage years I was forever playing cupid in the playground and I loved seeing my friends happy.
Likewise, as an adult I never understood why everyone would criticise how dreadful dating apps were and how tricky it was to meet like-minded singletons but do nothing about it.
The clearer I got on what I wanted, the more I was repelled by Peter Pan f**k boys, tedious online pen pals sessions that led to nothing and slow-burning situationships where effort was not equally matched and that was when Cheeky Events Sydney was born (now named Cheeky Events Australia).
Yes! I’ll be honest – one of the reasons I set up CEA was to improve my own chances of meeting my very own Mr. Right and it worked! In fact we are expecting our own cheeky bundle of joy in 4 weeks time! I’m a firm believer that you have to make things happen for yourself in this life, get yourself out of your comfort zone and put yourself in the right place at the right time. Not only did it work for me but it worked for several of my Sydney single best friends. *Disclaimer, I actually met my partner through the CEA Instagram page not an event whilst discussing how the events work and since that very first date he has been helping with the tech side of the business.*
BUT by the time I had met my partner Ben, I learned so much from taking part in my own speed dating events about what I was looking for in a relationship, what my non-negotiables
were and above all I was once again enjoying dating. Remember dating is supposed to be fun and this really is! I genuinely never knew that my fun side hustle would be so well received so quickly but what a privilege it is that my passion for matchmaking has helped create thousands of matches in its first three years and fortunately became my full-time calling.
On a personal level, my popular singles events have proven first-hand to me that I absolutely don’t ever need to settle if someone isn’t ticking the boxes and neither do you. There are so many wonderful, funny, intelligent, sexy singletons waiting to meet you right now.
So are you really ready to ditch the dull dating apps? Are you really ready to admit you deserve more that what the f**k boys are offering? (unless of course that is what you want, in which case you do you sister-we’ve all got needs :))
Undoubtedly, the biggest compliment I’ve received is that Cheeky Events Australia has helped to get rid of the stigma of speed dating & this is extremely evident in the diversity of our guests. From Aussie locals to recently relocated professionals, we’ve made speed dating accessible to anyone who knows what they’re looking for. We know of hundreds of official couples still going strong in Sydney that have kept in contact with us providing awesome updates of their memorable milestones in their relationship and with yesterday’s launch event in Melbourne proving to be a huge success we know this is just the start. Brisbane, Perth and Gold Coast- you’re up next!
It’s time to get clear on your very own checklist of what you’re looking for in your dream partner and define some healthy boundaries to help you attract that amazing romantic adventure you truly deserve :-).
Lots of love,
Cheri and CEA girl gang! x
