By Andrew Pryor
Simply put, Steve Ward knows his way around the human heart so well it’s a wonder he’s not a cardiologist in his spare time. Having joined the family matchmaking business straight out of Drexel University, he’s currently the CEO of Master Matchmakers, working alongside his mother, JoAnn Ward. They also co-host the breakout VH1 series Tough Love, now in its fourth season.
Being a co-host of Tough Love helped Steve share his relationship expertise with a much wider audience, and the show itself provided VH1 with a reprieve from the stigma of past shows like Flavor of Love and Rock of Love. “The executives over at VH1 were looking for more transformative programming,” says Steve, “so that was kind of our hook.” And that “hook” turned into a successful program that brought him and his mother into the limelight.
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So what’s a big part of their success, both on-and-off-camera? Well, in Steve’s opinion, a lot of it has to do with the way their business melds hands-on relationship advice with new technological developments. “I really enjoy being on the cutting edge of technology, especially when it comes to the dating world,” he says. “We just have to keep up with the times. Dating and mating are evolving faster than we are.” This particular subject made its way onto a recent episode of Tough Love, where the women were taught how to text responsibly and were ambushed during dates with photos from their Facebook pages.
And Steve’s newest innovation: a smartphone app named FunSexyCool. It combines technology and matchmaking in a way that’s accessible and fun to use. It’s an app that let’s you upload a photo of yourself, look at the photos of other users, and rate them as Fun, Sexy, or Cool, hence the name. It’s also one of the few social romance networks that actually rewards you for being active–the more pictures you rate, the more conversations you can have with other members of the site. It also includes a feature where you can contact a user in your general vicinity and chat with them.
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“Me and a couple of tech developers I know were talking about how people seemed frustrated with the options that were out there for finding love, so we worked together to come up with something new,” he says.
Interested daters can sign up for the app at funsexycool.com. And for those who want more of Steve Ward, visit MasterMatchmakers.com or watch Tough Love at 8 ET/7 CT.
Steve may be a practitioner of tough love, but it’s definitely not difficult for people to fall in love with all that he’s done to better people’s lives.
