I spent months on Raya's waiting list, but this is why it's worth it (2025)

For a hush-hush dating app designed to discreetly match the rich, the famous and the creative, Raya has certainly made a lot of noise since it launched a decade ago.

Once barely a whisper among the inner circles of society’s elite, it’s now considered the most sought-after membership for singles on the planet – with some people spending years on the 100,000 strong waiting list to gain membership to such an exclusive dating pool.

Designed by founder Daniel Gedelman to help famous people find love, Raya has been dubbed the ‘Soho House’ of dating apps and an Illuminati Tinder.

Reportedly only 8% of applicants are accepted, meaning you’re twice as likely to get accepted to Oxford University than you are to Raya, whose clientele reportedly includes A-listers like Charlize Theron, Lily Allen and Paul Mescal.

Getting through the door

Your average man is up against the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Ben Affleck, along with footballers Mason Mount and Reece James.

One explained to Metro that they left Tinder to join Raya two years ago because there were ‘too many fake accounts’ on the most downloaded dating app in the world. (Tinder boasts a global user base of75 millionmonthly active users, while there’s no public record of the latter’s stats.)

‘It felt like there were a lot of scammers and women offering to sleep with you in exchange for money. I wanted to bypass that fakeness,’ one says. ‘On Raya everyone has to be verified.’

When he initially applied, the man Metro spoke to had five referrals from Raya users – which are vital in getting accepted because it shows you move in the right social circles. Even so, to his annoyance, he was put on a waiting list for months.

Even so, he claims it’s the best dating app out there, and while he hasn’t found love yet, he’s had some ‘nice connections’.

‘You’re not necessarily going to meet Cindy Crawford on your first swipe, but I’ve been on a few dates with some really interesting people’, he says.

Many we spoke to admit that connections on the app, just like others, are quite ‘transactional’ and believes a lot of women using the site are just keen to ‘meet or hookup with a famous person’.

‘You get girls who are looking to go out with celebs and because you can put your travel plans on your dating profile, they sometimes travel to a specific place to meet a specific person,’ he adds. ‘Plus you can get a lot of matches but then no one actually speaks, which is a complaint I hear often.’

Regardless, the type of people one is able to meet on the app compared to others is something that comes up, with a ratio of ‘80% staggeringly beautiful people and only 20% who look average’.

Can it really lead to longterm love?

Despite such high expectations and stringent entry criteria, Raya does appear to have help forge some successful relationships. Influencer and reality TV star Jessica Stocker, 27, claims to have met ‘the love of her life’ Jacob Fowler on the app. Not just that, he was the only match she ever went on a date with.

The pair got engaged on August 27, 2024, with Jessica sharing her Raya story on TikTok. ‘You get 20 matches a day and out of those 20 matches there’s maybe one person that’s recognisable,’ she explained.

‘Charlie Puth was on there, Brody Jenner, Shawn Mendes – you get the point. Once you get a match you probably will never hear from that person, I don’t think most people are on that app to date – it’s more of a clout thing.’

But Jessica was one of the lucky few, and on their first date, they were already planning their second. ‘You just have to weed out the bad people quicker,’ she said. ‘There are high quality men on there, you just have to say no to the ones who aren’t serious.’

But can an app which prizes status, Instagram followings and flashy jobs ever yield more than one or two genuine connections?

Dating coach Hayley Quinn tells Metro that Raya sets a certain precedent which could potentially manufacture a rather self-indulgent dating pool. ‘What the vetting process does is create the sense that you’re not here just to meetanyone, but to meet someone as beautiful and as cool as you,’ she explains.

The ‘right’ kind of people

‘For some people this may mean they gain an inflated sense of social status from being accepted; or they may be entirely vacuous and solely looking to date really attractive people.

‘However, for others they may simply be cautious about using dating apps full stop, and see the app’s vetting process as a way to ensurethey meet the “right” kind of people.’

And, Hayley adds, this exclusivity could work in your favour too. ‘This sense of shared identity probably makes it easier for some shy users to bite the bullet and sign up because they feel they’re being introduced to a curated user base,’ she explains.

However, the dating coach believes Raya may not be the best place to find your soul mate: ‘An app that focuses very much on first impressions (looks, status and wealth) probably then isn’t the best app to use for long term love.’

Another male user tells us: ‘I’m not necessarily looking for someone famous but I would date Cameron Diaz if given the chance – although I’ve not come across her yet on the app,’ he says with a smile.

‘Despite not all connections leading to romance, it’s still a lot better than any other app out there because you meet like-minded people, and I’ve made some good friends from it too.

‘I’m average-looking at best but I’m just forthright, and that approach has given me some meaningful dates.’

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