Let’s admit it – being single is hard sometimes.

With her new singles club, a woman using the pseudonym “Queenie Be” has made it her mission to revolutionize dating and social life for singles in Northwest Arkansas.

Queenie Connects started in March as a dating group but quickly grew into a social club and support network for singles.

“It’s not as much a singles group, it’s a social group. There isn’t pressure to date. If you go to a meetup and find someone you are interested in, that’s great, we all want that, but that is not the purpose,” Queenie said.

Entry into the club is managed with a private Facebook group. Prospective members must be single and between the ages of 22 and 64, reside in Washington County or Benton County, and have a Facebook profile that is at least a year old. People of all sexual orientations are welcome to join.

Over 900 singles are currently in the group. Members are invited to 15 social events a week, including happy hours, bingo nights, book clubs, and hikes. Some events are family-friendly, with childcare available to accommodate single parents.

Making Connections

Queenie Connects has had several successful love stories. Queenie said there have been around 10 couples that have formed because of the group.

“There are thousands of lonely singles in NWA, and yet there are thousands of other singles who would love to hang out with them … My job was to get those people together,” Queenie said.

Members speak highly of the group within its Facebook threads.

“This isn’t about dating anymore. This is rebuilding weary souls who long for companionship, friendship, and loyalty…we are finding those things in this group,” one member wrote. 

“This group is about so much more than meeting someone to date. This family has changed my life, and I’d love for everyone to have a similar experience,” another said.

Who is Queenie?

Queenie was inspired to start Queenie Connects when she noticed the hardships many people were facing due to singleness while scrolling through a Facebook group for single mothers.

“Why is [dating] so difficult? It’s difficult because dating sites are awful!” Queenie said. “So, I thought to myself, ‘Can we create a dating site that would be an anti-dating site dating group?’”

She did not expect her name and organization to spread throughout Northwest Arkansas as quickly as it did. She’s even overheard people talking about the group in restaurants.

She chooses to stay anonymous for several reasons.

“I knew when I created the group that, when you put males and females in a dating situation, there is going to be drama,” Queenie said. “I knew I was going to have to make difficult decisions [about new member entry], and I have rather a high profile job, and so I wanted to make these decisions from a safety standpoint.”

Due to her anonymity, she does not attend events herself. She has a select number of trusted moderators that help facilitate events in her place.

Although not present at events, Queenie is encouraged by the positive messages she receives online. 

“I get two to three, at least, messages a day from people in the group who are grateful, and they want to reach out and tell how [the group] has changed their lives,” she said. “When I get messages like that, I weep from the joy of providing that level of happiness and connection in a world where we are more connected than ever, yet we are lonelier and more alone.”