Woman sues elite dating agency after a string of disastrous matches

The company, Kelleher International, promised ideal matches from around the globe. Instead, she was introduced to a procession of incompatible suitors. Photo / 123RF

Darlene Daggett had high hopes of finding her ideal partner when she took out a "CEO level" membership with a dating service.

But the retired corporate executive with the QVC shopping channel, who spent US$150,000 (NZ$206,157) signing up with the company, was to be sorely disappointed.

The company, Kelleher International, promised ideal matches from around the globe, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Darlene Daggett. Photo / Getty Images

Instead, Ms Daggett, a 62-year-old divorced mother of four, was introduced to a procession of incompatible suitors, including men who were married, mentally unstable or felons, according to documents filed in a federal court.

One candidate, an Australian entrepreneur, whisked her away on trips to Panama and Costa Rica.

This would have been fine had the man not embarked on a trip around the world with his former partner the day after returning from Panama with Ms Daggett.

Ms Daggett was also introduced to a man, described as the "Serial Lothario" in court papers. An executive with a Fortune 500 company, he ended their relationship without explanation, having spent Christmas and Thanksgiving at her home.

Then there was a man who said he was waiting for his terminally ill wife to die before dating once more.

Another match, hailing from Charlottesville, Virginia, was, she claimed, prone to lying uncontrollably. Ms Daggett then had to pursue a stalking complaint against him.

Ms Daggett, who has reached a settlement with the dating agency, said she had hoped to find someone to spend her retirement with.

Matchmaker Amber Kelleher-Andrews. Photo / AP

She told the court social dating sites "did not provide her with the degree of screening and privacy she was looking for".

Amber Kelleher-Andrews, Kelleher's chief executive and a former actress who appeared in Baywatch and Melrose Place, defended her company.

She told the paper that it had been responsible for thousands of marriages.

The company worked to end courtships fairly and reasonably, she said.

"It doesn't always work out."

This article was originally published by The Telegraph.