Matchmaking mom Geri Brin is always trying to find the perfect gal for her 31-year-old son Colby. And just this week, she launched a new link on her website, faboverfifty.com, to let other moms do likewise for their bachelor boys.
So when Meredith Vieira gave the 63-year-old Brin a chance to pitch Colby’s charms on America’s most-watched morning TV show, Brin didn’t skip a beat.
“He’s family-oriented, he loves his family, he loves his friends and he’s really cute and funny,” Brin told Vieira live on TODAY Wednesday as Colby looked on. “He’s healthy and fit — he just ran a half marathon successfully — and he is a fabulous writer.”
Colby pitched in: “I’m funny.”
To which his proud mom enthused, “I said funny! Absolutely, you’re funny!”
Teaming up with mom
Former fashion publishing executive Brin, who launched her lifestyle website in February, saw a unique business opportunity in adding a link to it that lets moms post particulars about their sons — or daughters, grandkids, nieces and nephews — in hope of forging a love connection.
While the site may seem like a novel new way for moms to embarrass their kids globally rather than just locally, Brin said she believes she’s hit on a winning formula. If the fix-ups don’t work out, moms make a convenient scapegoat. “All the kids have to do is roll their eyes and blame mom for getting them involved,” Brin told The New York Post.
On TODAY Wednesday, Colby Brin told Vieira he doesn’t mind the extra boost from his doting mom when it comes to navigating the choppy dating waters of New York City.
“I don’t think I need my mom; I’m also out there in the field doing my own work,” Colby said as his mother beamed. “But if my mom comes across someone she thinks would be good for me, there’s nothing to lose. It’s not like every night I’m out there doing something; I have some free time. So our combined forces, I think, are better than just me looking.”
Prospects pour in
Brin’s Fab Over Fifty website includes a “Date My Single Kid” link for “FOF Women Love to Play Cupid!” There, site members can post info about the young singles in their family, and also cruise a list of postings from like-minded moms. In the site’s first few days, profiles are already pouring in, with moms extolling the virtues of their kids, from their smarts to their culinary skills.
So far, the fix-up site is drawing moms posting about their kids ranging in age from young 20s to 40. The site doesn’t set the kids up directly; naturally, any potential suitor has to answer to mom first.
And if that seems like meddling, well, Brin won’t hear of it. “I don’t think it’s meddling at all; I think it’s casting a wider net,” she told Vieira. “Everybody’s busy today. We can be agents for our kids.”
While Colby says his mother’s “credibility is as good as the last date she put me on,” he admits he’s become comfortable with his mother scouring the ranks of single ladies to find the perfect love match for him.
“Look, I’m a Jewish guy who grew up in New York,” he told The New York Post. “Obviously, I’m a mama’s boy. Who are you kidding?”
To be sure, Colby has little to complain about: Some 15 potential dates contacted the program within minutes. Sitting down with TODAY’s Ann Curry in a return appearance, Colby and his mom pored over the prospects.
Potential matches
Amanda, a 29-year-old personal trainer, called in to the show, telling Colby, “I definitely feel your pain being single in your 20s and early 30s. I just never really find my match. I always kind of attract younger guys and they seem to be sort of immature and irresponsible.”
Geri told Amanda to contact the website, but an interested Colby quickly cut out the middle-woman and told Amanda to get hold of him at his own personal e-mail.
Even so, Amanda may have her work cut out for her. Shannon, 23, e-mailed TODAY and talked of her common bond with Colby — she, like he, is a writer, having published a children’s book, and is prepping to enter graduate school to teach writing. “Let’s go see a movie, talk about Flannery O’Connor’s body of work and have breakfast for dinner! :)” she wrote.
A sly smile crossed Colby’s face, who then said, “I’m very down; that sounds very appealing.”
Meddling has its rewards.