[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-post-title” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”Black Han Sans|700||on|||||” header_text_align=”center” header_font_size=”46px” header_letter_spacing=”4px” custom_margin=”25px||5px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”intro-wrap” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|600|on||||||” text_text_color=”#808080″ text_font_size=”16px” text_orientation=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
‘I was excited when I was first accepted, and then things took a turn…’<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-name” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Black Han Sans|||on|||||” text_text_color=”#000000″ header_4_font=”|||on|||||” header_4_text_align=”center” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Words by Bonnie McLaren<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/04\/Raya-celebrities-scaled.jpg” alt=”Raya celebrities” title_text=”Raya celebrities” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Around five years ago, I got the magic notification; I\u2019d been accepted to Raya. It had taken two years, and numerous referrals, but I was finally on the dating app regularly featured on the Daily Mail sidebar of shame. An app Olivia Rodrigo has called \u201cso vomit\u201d. And one where the likes of Ben Affleck, Paul Mescal and Lewis Hamilton have been spotted.<\/p>\n Raya \u2013 meaning friend in Hebrew \u2013 was founded in 2015, but thanks to tabloid coverage, it\u2019s gained notoriety in recent years. The app, which you can use for networking or dating, supposedly has an acceptance rate of 8%, but you could argue Raya is like the Soho House of dating apps \u2013 meant to be \u2018exclusive\u2019, but a lot of those who are willing to pay, and have some sort of creative\/tech-bro job, will be accepted. The interface is also a bit more high-tech than other dating apps; profiles are like a mini slideshow of photos, and they have to be accompanied by a song.<\/p>\n You might even spy the popstar who soundtracks your profile, as among the normies like me, a lot of celebrities are on the app. But this is something which is supposed to stay secret. Like a no photos policy at a private members club, you cannot take screenshots of celebs\u2019 profiles and text them to your group chat. (Don\u2019t even try it: a stern warning flashes on screen.) And to add to the illusion of exclusivity, you can only see around a dozen profiles at a time.<\/p>\n At first, being on Raya was exciting \u2013 like being on a celeb safari, what I would imagine driving around LA is like. I\u2019d spy actors who are worth hundreds of millions of pounds, singers with viral heartbreak anthems, and more ex-Love Island\/TOWIE\/Made in Chelsea stars than you could shake a stick at.<\/p>\n And it took more than a while to get my head around being able to shoot my shot with some of my celebrity crushes. I shrieked when I matched with the frontman of an indie band I was completely and utterly obsessed with as a teenager (funnily enough, I stopped myself from messaging that I\u2019d met him before, when I was fourteen and I\u2019d waited for the band before one of their gigs).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_code][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n I couldn\u2019t resist sending a message saying hi though. Turns out it didn\u2019t matter as I was ignored. Far from the first time I was pied on Raya, sending messages in to the abyss. In two years, and god knows how much money pissed up the wall, I only went on one date. As the app matches you with people from around the world, I ended up going on a first date hundreds of miles away from London in Wales with a musician who had millions of listeners on Spotify. As an exceptionally na\u00efve 23-year-old, I jumped on the train and didn\u2019t think through what would happen if the date was a complete disaster \u2013 which, obviously, it was. He was a lovely guy, but unfortunately we had less than nothing in common, and after a couple of extremely awkward drinks at a bar, I stayed round his as I\u2019d missed the last train home.<\/p>\n The excruciating encounter should have put me off Raya in the long term, but as a woman who dabbles in delusion, I was then on and off the app for another year. Missing the chance of matching with Charlie Puth, who was a proud Raya user before he dated his wife, was obviously too much for me to bear.<\/p>\n Some of my friends have had far more luck. When my younger sister was on Raya, she matched with quite a few UK household names (predictably, one who was embroiled in a classic Strictly cheating scandal). One of my best friends, who has been on the app for almost three years, frequently goes on Raya dates. While she says the amount of money she\u2019s spent is \u201chorrifying\u201d, she adds that she likes the slower pace and the \u201cquality of dates are generally much higher than apps like Hinge\u201d. \u201cI also think the fact you can list where you\u2019re travelling is really useful, for example I\u2019ve been on dates with guys who are visiting London,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-quote” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”Libre Bodoni|||on|||||” header_2_text_align=”center” header_2_text_color=”#333333″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n And there are real success stories. When I asked my Instagram followers to share their thoughts, one creative said he met his girlfriend on the app \u2013 and it was the first Raya date she\u2019d been on. They met for their first date the day before he moved to America for two months, but they Facetimed every day until he was back in the UK. The rest is history.<\/p>\n Another, who works in music, said she met her boyfriend on the app around four and a half years ago. But, before that, she used to play a drinking game with her friends where they would stockpile swiping through profiles so they could go through their options together. If a man\u2019s profile had a Getty watermark, a photo on a yacht, a photo with another celeb, a pic with their tops off or a pic with an instrument or a sports pitch \u2013 they\u2019d take a shot. How drunk would they get? \u201cIt definitely helped us get more pissed.\u201d<\/p>\n But even stunning presenters, actors and models I know found themselves in the same boat I did. One \u2013 who I will keep anonymous \u2013 summed up why she had cancelled her membership, saying: \u201cThere\u2019s so much ego involved nobody is prepared to make the first step.\u201d That fa\u00e7ade seemed to be a theme with most people I spoke to. Another man DMed me saying his time on there was dire. \u201cIt was a waste of money \u2013 very expensive,\u201d he said, \u201cfilled with the worst, most boastful people.\u201d<\/p>\n And I have to say I agree. If I look back to reactivate my subscription, it says I\u2019d have to part with \u00a319.99 a month. With over a year off the app, I\u2019ve realised I\u2019d much rather spend the money on a round of J\u00e4gerbombs than paying to be part of a club where I\u2019m always going to be an outsider. I\u2019m not on dating apps right now, but if I was, I\u2019d much rather take my chances trying to find a rockstar boyfriend on Hinge. At least that\u2019s free.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#111111″ divider_position=”center” divider_weight=”2px” module_class=”custom-divider” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-texts” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|||on|||||” text_orientation=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Photo: <\/b>Getty<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Writer Bonnie McLaren couldn’t believe her luck when she was accepted onto Raya.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":8291,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","category-news"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"guestgrazia","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8287"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9164,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8287\/revisions\/9164"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
‘The quality of dates are much higher.’<\/span><\/h2>\n