Single parent events
Muslim single parent matchmaking events
For divorced and widowed Muslims with children who are looking to marry again – and for people who want to meet them. A room where having children is the starting point, not something you have to raise carefully.
You should not have to lead with an apology
The thing people tell us about looking again after a divorce or a bereavement is not that they cannot find anyone. It is the moment in every conversation where the children come up and the temperature changes. Interest that was warm becomes polite. Nobody says anything unkind. It simply stops.
So they learn to mention it early, to get it over with, which makes it sound like a warning. Or they mention it late, and it lands like something withheld.
At these events nobody is doing either. Everyone in the room already knows what the room is. Your children are not a disclosure – they are a fact about your life that the person opposite you either wanted or would not have applied.
Remarriage is not a lesser thing
Divorce and widowhood carry no stigma in the deen, whatever the community sometimes implies. The Prophet, peace be upon him, married widows and divorced women. Nobody at these events is being helped out of an awkward situation; they are here for the same reason as everyone else at any of our events.
Who is usually in the room
Who comes
- Divorced mothers and fathers
- Widowed guests
- People with children at home and with children grown
- People without children who want to marry a parent
- Every community we serve, and every background
What people are looking for
- Someone who will be good to their children
- A partner who understands shared custody and school runs
- To be met as themselves, not as a situation
- Marriage, with realistic expectations on both sides
How the evening runs
- You apply. Around ten minutes. The form has space to say how many children you have, their ages, and your arrangements – as much or as little as you want read.
- A person reads it. Every application individually, free-text box included.
- Matching runs once. After registration closes, the whole list is matched together on age, location, practice, education, profession and stated preferences.
- Invitations go out. Venue and timings by email. Numbers are kept even between men and women.
- On the night. Supervised, structured introductions. Children do not attend, and no childcare is provided at the venue.
Upcoming single parent events
Questions about these events
Do I have to have children to attend?
No. These events are also for people who do not have children and are open to marrying someone who does. What we ask is that you are genuinely open to it – the whole point of the room is that nobody has to be persuaded.
How much do I have to say about my children?
Whatever you choose. The form asks, and you decide how much detail to give. What you write is read by the team and shared with nobody. What you tell someone on the night is entirely your decision.
Can I bring my children?
No – the introductions are adults only and there is no childcare at the venue. If arranging cover is the difficulty, our online events may work better; you can join from home once the children are settled.
I am widowed rather than divorced.
You are equally welcome, and widowed guests attend every event we run. Say so on the form so it is read as part of your circumstances.
My divorce is recent. Is it too soon?
That is your judgement to make, and your iddah where it applies is a matter for you and whoever you take guidance from. We do not set a waiting period. What we would say is that people who arrive still deciding whether they want this tend to find the evening harder than people who have decided.
Can a guardian come with me?
Yes – one guardian per female guest, waiting in a separate lounge with refreshments and welcome to join at the end. Note it on the application form.
No single parent date open yet?
Every event is announced to the mailing list before registration opens, and places are limited. One email per event, one click to stop.