We were lucky to catch up with Christina Dr. Jerger recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Christina, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Picture me: 36, ending a 7-year relationship, and moving to Bali for my personal Eat Pray Love moment searching for healing and clarity. However, when I returned and re-entered the dating world, I was hit with a harsh reality: endless swiping, shallow conversations, and a sea of ghosting. The magic and intention I craved in connection just didn’t exist on dating apps.

I then started helping singles with dating as there is nothing more fulfilling as a deep connection and relationship with someone. Especially nowadays depth is what we all crave in a world that got so disconnected. As a dating coach I worked with hundreds of singles and I realized I wasn’t alone – so many of my clients were feeling just as burned out, disconnected, and exhausted from dating. They didn’t need another match. They needed meaning and they were more than ready for the anti-Tinder-swipe-era.

That’s when the spark for BONDED was born: a next-gen dating app that actually helps people bond – emotionally, intelligently, and intentionally with the power of AI. My personal dating heartbreaks, paired with my coaching experience, made it clear that we don’t need more dating, we need better dating.

Christina, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

You already know that I’m a dating coach and single. It really was this desperation to find love and loneliness through endless swiping. Thinking it would be possible to find love 24/7 like going shopping for a partner on dating apps. Thinking more swiping would lead to promising results. It doesn’t, it leads to constant disappointment, frustration, burnout, questioning yourself, and deleting the apps while still being single. Being thirsty and ready for connection you won’t get. It’s a false truth. Dating apps aren’t built to create connection, they are built to keep singles engaged through endless swiping and not going on dates. The singles I personally worked with and myself we were tired of swipe – match – ghost – repeat.

That’s what led me to create BONDED. The app helps singles create meaningful connections through personalized matching – hallo values and life goals, guided conversations to keep the momentum going, and what we call the Bonding Journey – a feature that rewards users for emotional depth and conscious communication. It’s dating with purpose. Besides, we have a no-ghosting policy and screen singles profoundly before they get access to the app.

What sets me and BONDED apart is our deeply human approach: while tech powers the experience, empathy, insight, and intention drive every interaction. I’m most proud of how we’re blending science, psychology, and cutting-edge AI technology to help people feel seen and not just swiped on. AI shows that it isn’t replacing humanity, it’s perfectly supporting singles to open up, grow, and connect. While Tinder is for ego, BONDED is for connection. Hinge promised love, we deliver it!

For anyone tired of hookup culture or shallow chatting, I want you to know: you deserve love that feels like growth. BONDED was built for you.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Some days, building a dating app feels like falling in love – full of butterflies, big dreams, and hopeful momentum. Other days, it feels like heartbreak. You’ll get pushback. You’ll hear that love isn’t scalable. You’ll question if the vulnerability is worth it.

I remember one night after working late, exhausted and discouraged, I opened a message from a single who had found our early teaser. It simply read: “Please build this. We need it.” That DM brought me back to center.

I’ve coached hundreds of singles. I’ve been one myself – burned out from swipe culture, craving something deeper. BONDED was born out of that frustration, but it’s built on something more powerful: the belief that the most meaningful product you can create is one that helps people fall in love! BONDED is going to become more than a dating app – a movement toward conscious love.

That’s what we’re doing. And that’s what keeps me going.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A lesson I had to unlearn? That innovation will be welcomed with open arms – especially when it dares to touch something as human, raw, and sacred as love. When I first introduced the idea of using AI to build deeper romantic connections through the app, the reactions were mixed. Some got excited. Others looked at me like I had lost touch with reality and they didn’t get how AI could be emotionally intelligent and empathetic. The idea of building a machine that could support love, not simulate it, not replace it, but actually enhance the way humans bond, felt outrageous to many.

And I get it. Rejection was about fear. The fear that AI would strip dating of its soul, would manipulate it, rather than help restore it. But here’s what I’ve learned and why I keep going: the real problem in dating isn’t too much tech. It’s the wrong kind of tech. Quick dopamine hits. Swipe fatigue. Ghosting. BONDED was born to solve this, to use AI not as a replacement, but as a relational guide. Something that reminds us how to ask better questions, show up more honestly, and connect in a way that feels human again.

Innovating in emotional tech is uncharted territory – it’s exhilarating, but uncomfortable. You’re building what doesn’t yet exist, for a need that isn’t fully understood – until someone uses it and says, “Wow. This is what I’ve been missing.”

Contact Info:

• Website: http://letsgetbonded.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/letsgetbonded
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-christina-jerger-113aa0b8/

Image Credits

all mine