Compatible Partners: eHarmony’s New Gay Dating Service

Compatible Partners: eHarmony’s New Gay Dating Service

In November 2008, eHarmony announced the introduction of a same-sex service in 2009. The company faced a lawsuit from the New Jersey Attorney General in 2005 based on discrimination. eHarmony settled out of court in order to not complicate matters. The settlement agreed upon was the creation of a same-sex matching service. The settlement stated that eHarmony would create this new service by March 31, 2009 and will be called “Compatible Partners.”

The 2005 case was based on a New Jersey resident that filed a complaint with the State. He stated that eHarmony violated his rights by restricting their match-making services to heterosexual exclusively. eHarmony attempted to contest the allegations until there was a public finding announced of Probable Cause that eHarmony had violated the law.

eHarmony has recently stated, “Although we believed that the complaint resulted from an unfair characterization of our business, we ultimately decided it was best to settle with the attorney general since litigation outcomes can be unpredictable,” eHarmony holds to the conviction that there was no wrongdoing on their part.

eHarmony has made it clear that their company exists to promote long term relationships and not fly-by-night’s. Although its current matching system is based on research exclusively based on heterosexual married couples, eHarmony will utilize its same Compatibility Matching System with eHarmony Partners. In order to prevent the possibility of a same-sex user being matched with an opposite-sex user, the two websites will operate independent of one another. eHarmony Partners will use the same system of answering questions in an extensive online interview and then will be matched with someone that is found to be compatible.

eHarmony’s philosophy is based on extensive research on marriage that worked and those that didn’t. Those experiencing difficulty in their relationships, fundamentally had different levels of compatibility. The differences in those with opposing compatibility, continued to worsen in their attempts to “get along” and make the marriage work. The theory was tested along with Dr. Buckwalter, a research professor at the University of Southern California. The mission of the research was to identify the main traits that existed between those with the most successful relationships. After many years of research and observing successful marriages, the two doctors determined which key factors of personality would be the most compatible with another.

eHarmony launched their website in 2000 and quickly became the leading relationship-building website. The websites primary approach was not to see what people wanted in a relationship, but to find who they would be the most compatible with. Dr. Waldorf stated, “It’s not about matching people who like certain hobbies… it’s about compatibility.” Compatibility is what will make or break a relationship, according to the founder.

eHarmony Partners should be up and running by March 1, 2008