Photograph courtesy of Atlanta Matchmakers
Imagine, after years of wandering through dry and desiccated dating pools, you stumble upon a wise matchmaker who’s helped thousands of people find true love. Now imagine there’s two of them. “We don’t really have a business secret,” says Lisa Lyngos with a shrug. “The secret is that we’re twins.”
Lyngos and her identical twin, Leisha Murphy, co-own Atlanta Matchmakers, a boutique matchmaking service that’s been introducing couples in the city for over 25 years. Originally from Texas, they combined their backgrounds in sales, marketing, and modeling to launch the business, which now has six employees and a well-appointed office in Sandy Springs. Murphy and Lyngos function as something of a two-headed CEO. “We have a kismet—that’s the thing about being identical,” muses Murphy. “The twin thing is very naturally fast.” In business as in life: Recently, on separate shopping trips, they both impulsively purchased German bologna. “Of all the dumb things!” says Lyngos.
With buoyant blonde hair and matching conspiratorial grins, it’s as if the Sweet Valley High twins grew up to become wildly successful—but still charming—C-suite execs. One imagines them slinging their bare feet over a sofa arm with a Dr Pepper and asking, “So what are you really looking for in love?” They exude positivity in equal measure, a trait they say is essential to matchmaking. “We don’t give up on anyone,” says Murphy. “We just continue to be the wind underneath them.”
Can everyone find love? “There are some prickly pears,” Lyngos concedes. But matchmaking isn’t just about finding the perfect someone, they explain; it’s as much about helping people look deeper than their imagined ideal. “I tell people, ‘You’re going off the list you made when you were playing Barbies!’” she says. Matchmakers also curate a tailored pool of likely candidates, increasing the chances of a good match. “You are compatible with about three out of a hundred people. I’m going to take your hand and walk you past 75 people and say, ‘Meet John.’”
It’s a welcome reprieve from the grind of online dating: Some clients are older singles wary of online scammers, others are young people burned out from constant swiping. “It’s not a successful environment for intentional dating,” says Murphy. But you don’t need a boutique dating service to start changing your outlook on love, they say. “The first date should not be a therapy session or a job interview,” she advises. “And stop calling it so quick!” adds Lyngos. “If you like 50 percent of what you see, give that person another chance to unfold.”
Lyngos and Murphy estimate they’ve made at least a hundred thousand matches, and past clients often send wedding pictures and birth announcements. But they admit they have an unfair advantage: “Our competitors can’t really touch us,” says Lyngos with a sunny laugh. “They just don’t have two of them!”
This article appears in our May 2023 issue.
