If you’re unfamiliar with Raya, it’s an American dating app created to allow ‘alike’ people to ‘connect’. What this really means is that it’s for ‘public’ people to connect with other ‘public’ people. In fear of saying too much and getting banned, I hope you’re picking up what I’m putting down! But how did I get on there? I’m not quite sure either. 

When I heard about the app, I had to check it out, and when I downloaded it, I was met with the application process. This consists of handing over all your social media handles and informing you that  the team at Raya have monthly meetings in which they will determine whether you fit the criteria they allow on the app. According to Reddit, the criteria is “Hot, Rich or Famous, preferably at least ⅔”. I was waitlisted for about three months until randomly, I got a notification that I was accepted. I paid the $29.99/month fee for the lite version of the app, and made my profile! Like everyone who downloads the app, I was most excited to see who was on there. I was mostly met with athletes, producers, and other D-list celebrities, however, there were a few golden eggs in there! When first accepted, it must have gotten to my head a bit, as I was disappointed and shocked when my number one celebrity crush did not match me back. The app only shows you sets of 10 profiles at a time, and then makes you wait hours for the next set, so he looked through my profile and thought I was not at all for him. I know, shocker- an A list celebrity with perhaps the biggest sex appeal in the world right now did not match me. Haha.

I wish I could name-drop like you’re all waiting for, but the app has a strict monitoring system; you’re even banned from screenshotting profiles! I did match with a few people only to realise that no one talks on this app. After some thought I realised most people are probably on there for the same reason as I am, to match with ‘celebs’, and among matching with me, I imagine most people go straight to my Instagram handle (the first thing displayed on profiles), only to realise I am a 1000-followers basic-gal. It also does not help that the majority of users are in America/overseas. I had waited to write this article about a Raya date, but it’s been a few months and I’ve gone on 0! Awful I know, but I’m trying to tell you that unless you are a D-list celeb, it’s not worth the hype. 

I used to think Hinge humbled me with my ‘most compatible’ swatches, however, this app is something else. I feel like an I-Lister but the ‘I’ means ‘irrelevant’.