If you want nice, nurturing relationship advice, ask your best friend. If you want the cold, hard truth, ask Patti Stanger. The star of Bravo's The Millionaire Matchmaker (which airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m.) has moved her dating show from Los Angeles to New York City for season 4, and she's giving East Coast millionairesses a dose of tough love.
When iVillage sat down with the outspoken matchmaker, she dished her best dating advice (avoid tequila on a first date!), admitted that she could learn something from Madonna and opened up about her failed engagement to Andy Friedman, her boyfriend of six years.
How is the show different now that it's in New York City?
New Yorkers have no time, they’re impatient. And the millionairesses are snobby and bitter! They only want to stay in the city, in their own little zip code, and they think their junk don’t stink. I mean, they’re elitists. "Have you cured cancer? Otherwise I can’t date you" kind of thing. L.A. is very easy breezy, where New York is very uptight.
Is it harder to set up men or women?
Men are much easier than women. Men are like, "If you don’t like me and I don’t like you -- next!" Women are like, "I want to talk about it, and I want to talk about it for the next three weeks." I can’t get work done with the millionairesses. They're a pain in the a--.
What do you think is the perfect go-to outfit for a first date?
Jeans and a leather jacket in this weather, you can’t go wrong. And if you know the guy's tall you can pull on the heels. A little low-cut top didn’t hurt anybody -- showing the assets, the girls.
What looks do men hate?
They hate boho. Boho-chic needs to be burned. I know Rachel Zoe looks really great in it -- she’s my favorite person in the whole wide world. But most men are like, "You’re wearing a tent, and you look fat." They don’t want to see that. Even if you’re skinny and you’re wearing that… You’re not Sienna Miller. You can’t carry it off, okay?
What’s the biggest mistake you can make on a date?
Talking too much and talking too much about your past -- TMI. "My mom’s in jail. My dad left my mom for a younger man. Did I tell you I’m not working?" That’s what they do because they’ve had too many cocktails. TMI goes with drinking. Two drinks maximum -- one type of alcohol, not two. And if you drink tequila, prepare to get a baby with that.
What if the man is drinking a lot?
Guys will drink more than the women. And if a guy sees a woman drinking, he thinks she’s a lush. If a woman sees a man drinking, she will not really pay attention until he grabs her -- and then she’ll think, "Oh, he’s an alcoholic." He can probably hold his liquor longer, because we’re lightweights when it comes to alcohol. And it’s not a good thing to get drunk. If you want to get laid and just clean out the pipes, go for it. But I don’t recommend it if you’re looking for a real husband.
Last season, you saw a psychic who predicted that you'd call off your wedding with Andy Friedman.
That’s my best friend! She is dead-on with everything, but she can't hold back when she sees something. She predicted something today...Some ex came back to talk to me. She said, "Someone’s going to call you in New York and it's your ex-boyfriend." And it was one of the loves of my life. So he called me, and I was like, "Whoa, she’s dead-on."
How is it dating again after being in a six-year relationship?
It’s really weird when you’re old, because you know too much. It's kind of scary. I mean, Madonna’s older than me, I don’t know what the hell she’s going through but I need to take notes from her. Because it's amazing how much you see. It's like, "I would have never wasted my time with him in my twenties, forget him!" You're already discarding and disqualifying because you know exactly what you want. And you’re not going to waste any more time on it.
So, are you finding what you want?
Some. I’m newly dating. The guy has to ask me out, has to call me -- they have to do all that stuff. We'll see.
Would you want Patti Stanger to set you up? Chime in below!
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