“I’m not a game player.” – Diana Gowins
The Millionaire Matchmaker, Dawn Robinson & Diana Gowins: client intros
The “cold open,” as they say in the biz, involves Patti Stanger talking via video chat with Nene Leakes, cast member on The Real Housewives of Atlanta (a show that I have not watched a single second of).
Check out our full and snark-tastic Millionaire Matchmaker episode guide and updates! Trash and treasure in equal increments, we promise.
It seems Nene got married recently and is now looking to Patti to help hook up two of her presumably non-millionaire bridesmaids, Dawn Robinson and Diana Gowins, with husband material of their own.
While typically there’s a show segment where we meet The Millionaire’s Club clients via a recorded video, this time around we cut to Nene visiting the office to meet with Patti and her underling assistants Marisa, Justin, and David.
Nene emphasizes that any guy set up with her bridesmaids has to be able to handle their “powerful group of friends.”
Nene also feels that Diana’s challenge is that “she gives too much to a man.” We also learn that Diana has twins – a girl and a boy – in addition to a daughter in college.
Meanwhile, Dawn handles wealth management for a financial firm and is “bossy” in Nene’s opinion. She’s been married in the past and currently has a dog these days.
The Millionaire Matchmaker, Dawn Robinson & Diana Gowins: Patti meets the clients
Patti and Nene head to a restaurant called Crustacean in Beverly Hills to meet both Dawn and Diana. We learn that Diana is a full-time mom to the 13-year-old twins and is also studying to get a nursing license. She’s taken a break from dating but is now ready for love. Diana’s wish list: she’s looking for a “manly man.”
Patti’s advice for the mixer: lead with the sexy and leave the momma at the door.
Dawn then tells us that she’s from a small town in Texas, now lives in LA, and thinks that she’s still single in her 40s because she has “a very low tolerance for bulls—.”
“I’m not a game player,” she adds.
Dawn isn’t looking to have kids and just wants a partner to share her life with.
Nene’s take is that Dawn is “very alpha,” which Patti translates as that she “bulldozes” men” and that she’s an “intimidator” due to her job and her persona.
The Millionaire Matchmaker, Dawn Robinson & Diana Gowins: the recruiting session and mixer
Highlights of the recruiting session, which includes Nene Leakes this time around, include:
- Patti asks Charlie, a cop, if the pink tie he’s wearing means he “plays for the other side.” This is Patti being unhilariously uncool.
- Multiple dudes are ordered to take their shirts off. Most comply, but when Mandell, a trainer, refuses Patti yells at him, “If you can’t show your goods you’re out of work!”
- We briefly see a super tall guy and learn his feet require Size 17 shoes. “My gynecologist said never date anyone over Size 12,” Patti quips.
The mixer takes at The Millionaire’s Club office, which has been the case for much of Season 7. My ongoing theory is that the show trimmed down the budget for this supersized 18-episode season.
The mixer is pretty uneventful, mostly because it’s filled wall-to-wall with mature and respectful people having wholesome get-to-know-you conversations. In other words, far from the norm for The Millionaire Matchmaker!
For the mini-date round, Dawn picks Isaac, who worked his way up from being a security guard at a Hollywood studio to producing television and Ryan, a stuntman who likes to surf, while Diana selects DeMarco, Patti’s “frontrunner” who is single after his wife of 18 years cheated on him, and Dante, an engineering consultant who selflessly donated a kidney to help save his brother’s life.
After some pleasant further conversations all around, Dawn ends up opting for Isaac for the “master date” while Diana goes with Dante.
The season ends on a master date gimmick: it’s a double date, people.
The Millionaire Matchmaker, Dawn Robinson & Diana Gowins: Dawn and Isaac & Diana and Dante’s first date
Isaac and Dante collaborating to set up the date, starting at 3rd St. Dance Studio for a salsa dancing lesson, with Dancing With the Stars dance instructor Louis Van Amstel as teacher.
I smiled when Louis says, “Let’s start innocent.” And it’s even funnier when he asks Isaac if he’s looking at Dawn’s boobs while trying to concentrate on the dance steps, and he says, “Yes.” It’s a good sign for him, I suppose, that Dawn giggles and takes it in stride.
Dinner is at an elegant outdoor balcony in downtown Los Angeles. Sidenote here that there are a number of great rooftop and high up outdoor spots in DTLA (Perch, for example).
The couples are able to converse very easily, and it seems to help that they all went through this process and experience together. Most of all though, all four of them come across as genuine and mature people seriously looking for a long-term relationship.
Both Diana and Dawn tell the camera in separate interviews that their dates make them laugh and smile a lot, so it’s clear that there is at least some kind of connection going on with both couples.
The night ends with some slow dancing near their table, and both couples enjoy a first kiss moment at just about the same time.
The Millionaire Matchmaker, Dawn Robinson & Diana Gowins: post-dates upshot
Back at the office, Patti and David call Dante first, who tells them all about the date, and then the nice reveal is that he’s planning to visit her in Atlanta soon. Next, they bring up Diana on video chat, who says that she worked on “leading with the sexy,” and is excited to see where things go with Dante next.
Justin and Patti call Isaac next, who tells a similar tale about the date and his feelings. Dawn then stops by the office, who seems really thrilled with how things went. “The intimidator has left the building,” Patti declares.
The end of episode credits then tell us: “After seeing each other for a short while, Diana decided she and Dante don’t want the same things. She is happy that Patti taught her not to mother the future men in her life.” And: “Dawn says Isaac is wonderful, he’s not intimidated by her at all. They continue to see each other.”
Some stats and info about The Millionaire Matchmaker – Dawn Robinson & Diana Gowins (“Nene’s Bridesmaids”)
TV SHOW – The Millionaire Matchmaker
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 7, Episode 18
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – Bravo
AIR DATE – April 20th, 2014
GENRE – Reality TV, Dating Shows, Trashtastic TV
STARS – Patti Stanger, Dawn Robinson, Diana Gowins
GOOGLE PLAY DESCRIPTION – Patti’s good friend Nene Leakes (“Real Housewives of Atlanta”) enlists Patti’s help setting up two of her single bridesmaids. First up is 44-year-old Dawn Robinson, who is tall, beautiful, and intelligent. Men approach her, but according to Nene, Dawn scares them off with her intimidating ways. Patti needs to teach her to back off, be less critical, and soften around the edges. Next is Diana Gowins, a 41-year-old mother of three, and a former nurse who tends to over-nurture her man. She goes out of her way to give him whatever he wants even BEFORE he asks for it! With Nene’s help along the way, can Patti break both bridesmaids of their bad habits and help them find love?