As if the onset of Valentine’s Day and the inevitable pity looks from smug attached friends and family weren’t enough to deal with, I got rejected badly in the lead-up to February 14. It’s enough to make any girl, and this usually strong, independent woman, turn into a blubbering, chocolate-binging, wine-guzzling desperado! It’s all too easy to comprise your standards with online dating because you may feel like this is your last resort before turning into a crazy cat lady spinster.

In commerce, companies are known for splitting their investments into different assets, right? Similarly, your love life is your business so split your offerings onto different dating sites. Got burnt by one too many douche bags on OkCupid? Why not join Loveawake, Match.com and the like. Different guys are on different sites and you never know which one might yield the one for you. Go through your dating site profiles and refine your matching requirements.

It’s not – there are plenty of men just waiting to get know you. Help them out by being honest about what you want and what you’re looking for. Tired of swiping left all of the time because there just doesn’t seem to be any quality prospects? You need to see the bigger picture – which is finding someone special to date and love – so, take a break from the virtual world and step out into the real one. Rejection, virtual or otherwise, hurts like crazy but you shouldn’t let it get you down.

However, you can’t keep a love-seeking heroine down and so, it’s with great gusto that I dried my pretty eyes, slapped on some fire engine red lipstick and booted up my laptop to get back onto the online dating horse. Go speed dating, attend a concert or live event, have dinner with friends or have a night out on the town. Mingle with real, live people and remember, that online or offline, it is really just is a date. We live in an age where meeting someone is possible anywher