Professional matchmaking services are designed to be elite. But with Kelleher International, it goes to a whole new level. Think hundreds of thousands of dollars…exclusive trips with Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson to private islands…that level of elite.
While this may pique your interest, is Kelleher International the right matchmaker for you? Is it worth your time and money (lots of it)? In our Kelleher International review, we help get to the bottom of this.
Kelleher International works hard to position itself as the elite of elite options.
We’ll start by sharing our overall opinion of Kelleher International and then dive deeper into our review to share the key things we think you may want to know about.
As a professional matchmaker, Kelleher International gives off the vibes of “if you have to ask how much it costs, it’s not for you.” Because of this, reviews outside of the ones posted on the company website are hard to come by. The one external source we’ve found is a lawsuit against the company from a former QVC executive.
Don’t worry, we’ll explain all of this, and we’ll also share exactly how much Kelleher International costs.
And just in case you want to see how Kelleher International stacks up against other matchmakers (or you decide it’s not the right fit for you, you can always check out our list of the leading matchmaking services.
Let’s start with the elephant in the room — the lawsuit.
In 2014, Darlene Daggett, a former executive for the shopping network QVC signed a $150,000 contract with Kelleher International for their CEO Club level membership.
In Daggett’s suit, she claimed that her matches did not fit the criteria she was promised when signing her contract. Here is exactly how it was outlined in the suit.
“KELLEHER’s “highly screened” matches for DAGGETT included men who were married, mentally unstable, physically ill, pathological liars, serial Lotharios, stalkers, convicted felons, unwilling or unable to travel and/or the subject of professional sanctions
Case 2:17-cv-03460-JD Document 1, Page 5
Wow. Someone unwilling to travel? That’s terrible. Kidding. This list sounds like the plot of a movie, but the remainder of the suit where each of her dates is laid out is even more explosive. It’s organized into each date with exact details of what happened.
Here are the six dates Daggett went on and exactly how they’re titled in the claim.
- “The Interpol Spy” – This man pretended to work as an international spy but was instead traveling the world with his previous girlfriend.
- “The Serial Lothario” – A fortune 500 executive who came on extremely strong only to abruptly break up with Daggett because he didn’t want to live in Pennsylvania. Daggett implored the company not to match this man with anyone else as she expected him to do the same thing again. Shortly after, the company matched him with another woman who he did the same thing to again.
- “The Alleged Widower Turned Convicted Felon and Stalker” – There’s too much to unpack here but the gist of it is the man she dated was allegedly a widower, except his wife was still alive. Daggett received calls from the wife while the two were together. Upon learning this, the man shared information about needing to “cause pain and shame” as a result of childhood trauma. Daggett took the main to the airport immediately. Eventually, the man began stalking Daggett and was convicted of bank fraud in 2016 for the amount of $10.5 million. This is just an overview; the actual details are wild and can be read in the link at the top of this section.
- “The Censured Judge” – The company suggested a New York Supreme Court Justice as a potential match. Daggett conducted a quick search of the man and found that he had been censured for carrying on an affair with an attorney who regularly appeared before him.
- “First Seriously Ill Man” – Daggett was matched with a man who had Crohn’s disease for close to fifty years without her prior knowledge.
- “Second Seriously Ill Man” – The very next match they gave Daggett was a man with a serious heart condition who had suffered three previous strokes. During their first date, the man lost consciousness in the car.
The suit goes on to claim that Kelleher did not do its part in properly vetting matches like it contractually agreed to. The suit was settled just hours after it was brought (according to media sources) for undisclosed terms.
Here are our takeaways from the lawsuit and how they affect our Kelleher International review.
If the claims are true, the quality of matches and level of service offered do not line up with what was promised. If you’re paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for the top of the line service, that service should be living up to its claims. The fact that this wasn’t just one bad match, but all six were bad is something that doesn’t sit well with us.
Kelleher International memberships start at $30,000 and go up to $300,000.
“I know it sounds like a lot of money, but it’s pocket change to the wealthy.”
Kelleher International Founder Amber Kelleher-Andrews, Los Angeles Times
In an article with the Los Angeles Times, the founder of Kelleher International makes it quite clear that their clientele is the richest of the rich. Where other leading matchmaker’s pricing starts around a few thousand dollars, the baseline annual membership for Kelleher International is $30,000 and go up to $300,000 for even more elite level service.
According to the company, higher priced memberships get members access to a wider pool of matches, relationship coaching, life coaching, individual attention from the founders, and the company will go outside its existing database to find matches.
The company made some strange comments about tragedies.
“We did really well in 2001 when the World Trade Center went down. We were so busy. And then when the recession hit, we were so busy. And then when COVID hit, we were so busy. People are reevaluating. Bush said, ‘Go home and hug your family,’ and they’re like, ‘I don’t have a family, I’ve been working on Wall Street.”
Kelleher International Founder Amber Kelleher-Andrews, Los Angeles Times
At a bare minimum, these comments are insensitive. Yes, the point they’re making is probably true that during times of tragedy, people reevaluate their lives differently, often with more of a focus on their relationships. Yes, this can probably drive more people to matchmakers and dating apps.
However, well…we’ll let you evaluate how these comments make you feel. For us, they’re a big miss.
Here’s some data about Kelleher International’s membership and service.
While most of the company’s operations are kept quite private, they do share some details that can be helpful to give you a better picture of whether it’s a good fit for you or not.
- In 2022, the company had around 600 clients worldwide on one to three year contracts.
- The gender split of clients is close to 50/50.
- The company receives around 800 inquiries a month for service.
- Less than 5% of applicants are accepted.
- The company says 87% of its clients end up “finding love” and that the company has been responsible for thousands of marriages.
Members can purchase additional trips as part of the KI Social Club Events program.
One unique aspect of Kelleher International’s offerings that we wanted to cover in our review are their social club events. Referred to as KI Social Club Events, these are special, high-dollar events that members can pay to join.
The flagship event is an annual leadership event at Necker Island, a private island owned by Sir Richard Branson.
Other events we’ve seen in the past include:
- Steven Tyler (from Aerosmith)’s Grammy viewing party
- Elton John’s Academy Awards viewing party
- A mindfulness retreat in Tulum at the company’s yoga retreat
- African safaris
- Private encounters with whale sharks in Mexico
- An exploration safari of the Panama jungle
According to the founder of the company in 2022, they hope that one day the social club will be as much as one-third of the company’s business portfolio.
Is Kelleher International worth it?
If you are in the upper crust, elite, maybe. Based on the marketing and persona the company carries, we’d believe that it attracts people who care a lot about status and success. If that aligns with your goals and feelings, it just might be a good fit.
However, if you’re not looking to drop at least $30,000 on a membership and other things carry more weight with you, it might not be a great fit.
And for us, the details of the lawsuit (particularly the vetting of matches) and the insensitive comments about 9/11 lead us toward a pass on the company.