A partner with a little help from your friends

DEAN KOZANIC/The Press

SINGLETON SOLUTION: Peter Stewart, Sally Wynn-Williams, centre, and Sharon Amataiti check out the website.

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Sally Wynn-Williams calls herself a "notorious matchmaker".

The Christchurch woman has orchestrated two marriages and now plans to fix up the rest of New Zealand's singletons, with a little help from their friends.

Her website, checkoutmyfriend.co.nz, is for Kiwi singles who find it difficult to promote themselves on traditional dating websites. Profiles on the website must be written by a friend, rather than the single person in question.

"I just thought there should be something fresh and approachable for Kiwis," Wynn-Williams said.

"It's all about removing the cringe factor and having a bit of a laugh by bringing your friends along," she said.

"There are so many cool and normal people out there, and what better people to help than your friends?"

The eureka moment came after a few wines when Wynn-Williams and her husband suggested single friends try internet dating.

"They felt uncomfortable talking themselves up and said it was hard writing their own profile," she said. "It all stemmed from there."

The site goes live today.

One of the first singles to hit the site is Sharon Amataiti, 29, a fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House in central Christchurch.

She has tried other sites without luck.

"But after reading what my lovely friend wrote about me, I can't understand why I haven't been snapped up," she said.

"Having someone else talk you up takes a bit of the pain out of it."

Her "virtual wingman", Hayley Negus, said their circle of friends had partners.

"And we really want her to join the party.

"She meets a lot of people and she's really friendly, but she might not be giving out signals that she is girlfriend material."

Anna Hiatt has put a friend, builder Peter Stewart, on the site because he is "a bloody good catch" whose downfall was mismatched clothing because of his colour-blindness.

Stewart, 45, said he was relatively new to the dating game but "one of the good guys".

"I struggled to write my own profile. It's especially hard for blokes," he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News