Sick of swiping? This New Yorker’s blind dating events offer queer people in London an antidote
Kay’s Blind Match is London-based matchmaking experience reshaping how LGBTQ+ people meet and connect. (Lighthouse Films/Getty Images
Kay's Blind Match is London-based matchmaking experience reshaping how LGBTQ+ people meet and connect. (Lighthouse Films/Getty Images
“Communicative, soulful and intentional,” is how Kay, the founder of queer dating events Blind Match, described the experiences she offers.
“Emotionally, mentally or physically drained,” is how 78 per cent of 1,000 dating app users reported feeling when seeking romance online, according to a 2025 Forbes Health Survey.
Tackling modern-day swipe culture is no easy feat, but Kay is determined to try.
As the name suggests, the in-person matchmaking experience enables LGBTQ+ individuals to meet a potential partner, or future friend, completely blindfolded.
“Why the blindfold?” I asked, with Kay explaining that, having seen several friends bullied growing up, particularly online, she wanted to remove visual bias from dating.
Blindfolds enable daters to ditch being performative
The blindfolds, she said, allow people to “show their true colours at their core, as opposed to being performative and showing up in a way they feel they have to in order to be liked”.
The 23-year-old, who grew up in New York but has been living in London for the past three and a half months, is currently single. However, she said she believes the city, which she credits with enabling her to “be the person I want to be”, could help her find her community, friends, and potentially her soulmate.
Her idea to launch the events stemmed from her “own desire to create what I wished existed as a queer person navigating London”.
So far, Kay has held three events, including a queer Christmas mixer designed to help people connect platonically and build friendships. The event received rave reviews.
She told PinkNews that participants are matched through a compatibility form that asks about their values and what they seek in others. The form also enables Kay to ensure that “boundaries aren’t crossed”.
“It’s intentional. The compatibility form ensures we’re increasing our chances of aligning individuals,” Kay explained.
Dating today tends to centre around apps that prioritise appearance before conversation, if either party can be bothered to engage at all.
The sheer number of platforms can leave daters feeling overwhelmed by choice, but Kay believes this is merely “an illusion of having options”.
“In reality, it’s not. You don’t know who somebody is at their core. You can have someone that looks like your type, but when you speak to them, you have nothing in common,” she said of the most popular dating apps.
Those not looking for love but instead seeking friendship can also attend Blind Match events.
‘Your people will always find you…’
Kay emphasised that the idea that “your partner should be your everything”, is, in her opinion, “not healthy”.
“I’ve witnessed it firsthand,” she said, referring to people who invest everything in relationships only to realise they have no one outside of them.
Dating can be intimidating, and exhausting, but Kay encouraged hopefuls to “continue showing up authentically, no matter how different or how weird you think you are – your people will always find you once you start showing up authentically as yourself”.
Kay is now expanding the events into a two-part experience. The first will involve blindfolded one-on-one conversations, while the second will see blindfolds removed so participants can continue exploring their connection through a guided activity, ranging from bouquet building to painting.
“It guides people from curiosity to connection,” she said of the new format.
The first two-part series will be held in February, with further details to be shared on Blind Match London’s social media.
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