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Settle for Love: Dating app features users’ good and bad sides

Posted at 5:30 PM, Feb 01, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-01 18:46:37-05

HUDSONVILLE, Mich. -- Settle for Love is a dating app with a twist: its nearly 10,000 users must also share their not-so-good side.

“You actually get to see unique things that people would never put on another site," said David Wheeler, Settle for Love co-founder.

While most dating apps and sites like Tinder, OkCupid and Match showcase its users' good sides with a complimentary photo and profile, Settle for Love requires its users to share the good and the bad.

Wheeler pulled up his former profile Wednesday showing FOX 17 his "good" picture and following traits, like "I'm extremely honest." Then he then clicked over to his "bad" side: "My hair is fading fast, I have a bad sense of fashion, in fact I only have one pair of jeans.”

Wheeler launched the app Dec. 2014 and develops it from home in Hudsonville, alongside a part-time staff who are working on growing their dating pool. While some dating app giants like Tinder boast 26 million matches per day, Wheeler says in the past two years Settle for Love has had more than 1,000 mutual matches.

To date, Settle for Love has almost 10,000 users in all 50 states and Canada. Wheeler says it will remain completely free, though they hope to add paid features or a pro account once they grow their users into the hundred thousands.

“It sparks conversations and connections that you’re not going to have on Tinder, or Match, or Plenty of Fish," said Wheeler.

And his inspiration? A few dozen bad dates across other online dating apps and sites.

“I was chatting with a girl again for a few weeks, finally decided to go on a date," Wheeler recalled. "And I pulled up and she had a huge mansion and I’m driving my Dodge Stratus with duct tape on the bumper. And I remember her facial expression when she saw my car was just like, 'wow, I’m wasting my time.'"

Now happily, recently married and still driving his duct-taped car, Wheeler says Settle for Love is about being yourself online. He met his wife on ChristianMingle, for the record.

“That’s what our site is all about, is trying to truly be yourself and be comfortable in your own skin, because somebody is going to love you for who you are," he said.