New dating app Dateability is helping disabled and chronically ill people find love
Disabled and chronically ill people are often ghosted or rejected on mainstream dating apps. Dateability is evening the playing field
In her early twenties, Kaci LaFon lived in Branson, a tourist town in the US state of Missouri known for its older population. She wanted to date but found it a challenge, so – like many her age – she turned to dating apps.
Over the course of five years, she would get a date here and there, but contact always petered out.
“I tried and I failed,” she said. “There wasn’t really much I could do about it.”
The issue in her eyes? LaFon, now 28, is chronically ill. She has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a connective tissue disorder, as well as a range of other health issues. Her matches had no idea how to navigate her challenges, or they had a god complex and wanted to treat her as an invalid. That, she said, was a hard no.
That all changed when LaFon went on Dateability, an app designed for both disabled and chronically ill people. Her mother spotted a news story about it and urged her to try it. Soon after joining, she found her forever person, Collin LaFon, who has cerebral palsy and endured a similar dating experience.
They married in September.