With Valentine’s Day creeping closer — cue the heart-shaped chocolates, panic bouquet orders and a sudden spike in “am I okay being single?” conversations — Australian women are taking stock of their love lives. And according to new research from dating app Coffee Meets Bagel, the mood has officially shifted.
In 2026, romance is back on the priority list — and not in a vague, let’s-see-what-happens kind of way. Coffee Meets Bagel’s latest Australian Dating Realness research reveals that finding true love now outranks money, career ambition and even health for many Gen Z and Millennial Aussies. More than half say love is their top life goal this year, while nearly six in ten are actively dating to marry.
Yes, dating to marry. On apps. In this economy.
And yet, despite these earnest intentions, modern dating feels harder than ever. A staggering 91 per cent of Australians surveyed by Coffee Meets Bagel say dating apps have made finding love more challenging — with ghosting, burnout and endless swiping leading the charge.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because many women are living it.
Ghosting remains the number-one frustration, followed closely by dating fatigue and profiles that reveal little more than a blurry group photo and a fondness for travel. The result? Swiping becomes less about hope and more about habit. In fact, Coffee Meets Bagel’s data shows that more than 80 per cent of users admit to swiping without any intention of starting a conversation at all.
It’s not that people don’t want relationships — they do. It’s that the mechanics of modern dating have made emotional investment feel like a high-risk sport.
One particularly telling stat: 40 per cent of Australians now say committing to a long-term relationship feels harder than securing a job. Considering Australia’s tight employment market, that’s saying something.
According to Coffee Meets Bagel, this disconnect between intention and experience has sparked a noticeable cultural shift away from casual dating and towards something far more deliberate. The era of “just seeing where it goes” is quietly being replaced by what the app describes as intentional, marriage-minded dating — a desire for clarity, effort and emotional follow-through.
That doesn’t mean romance has lost its sparkle. It simply means patience is wearing thin.
Interestingly, technology hasn’t been rejected in this new dating landscape — it’s been repurposed. Coffee Meets Bagel’s research found that nearly nine in ten Australians are open to using AI as a dating assistant, whether that’s to polish a profile, craft a first message or avoid the dreaded “hey, how are you?” opener.
It’s less about outsourcing connection and more about removing the awkwardness that gets in the way of it. Still, even with AI stepping in as a digital wingwoman, many singles are realising that dating apps themselves are the bigger issue.
Endless choice, it turns out, isn’t romantic — it’s paralysing.
This is where Coffee Meets Bagel positions itself differently. The app is built specifically for serious daters — and it shows. Rather than unlimited swiping, users receive a curated selection of matches, or “bagels,” each day at noon. Conversations have a seven-day window, encouraging momentum and discouraging ghosting. First moves are intentional, requiring users to engage with a specific photo or prompt rather than tapping a generic like.
In other words, it’s designed to make dating feel active again — not passive scrolling with feelings attached.
Coffee Meets Bagel CEO Shn Juay says the goal is to slow dating down, not speed it up. By limiting options and encouraging accountability, the app aims to reduce the burnout that so many daters — particularly women — are experiencing.
Relationship experts agree the approach reflects a broader emotional recalibration. After years of ambiguity, people want clearer signals and reassurance that the person on the other end is just as invested. Less guessing. Fewer vanishing acts. More intention.
As Valentine’s Day approaches, this shift in dating app use feels especially timely. Romance in 2026 isn’t about grand gestures or viral meet-cutes — it’s about consistency, effort and someone actually replying when they say they will.
Dating may still be messy, but if Coffee Meets Bagel’s research is anything to go by, Australians aren’t giving up on love. They’re just demanding better systems to find it.
And honestly? That might be the most romantic trend of all.
