Story Behind Matched by Design
Built by Therapists. Inspired by Real Connection.
How Our Story
Became Our Mission
We turned years of helping couples repair relationships into a way to help singles build them right from the start.
In session after session, we met emotionally ready people who couldn’t find partners equally ready. After helping so many rebuild, we wanted to help others start from readiness — to meet with clarity instead of confusion.
That’s how Matched by Design began: as a bridge between emotional insight and romantic connection — between what people want and what they’re actually prepared to build.
We wanted to help people stop guessing in love — and start choosing with clarity
– Erica & Eric Epstein
Built on Experience.
Guided by Empathy.
We didn’t just study relationships — we lived them, built them, and helped thousands heal through them.
As a husband-and-wife team of marriage and family therapists, we’ve spent our careers guiding people toward deeper understanding, healthier patterns, and relationships that last. Now, through Matched by Design, we bring that same therapist-informed insight to modern matchmaking — helping emotionally ready singles find love that feels calm, mutual, and real. Because connection isn’t luck — it’s design.
The Couple Behind the Connection
Partners in work, life, and the belief that love should feel like understanding.
Erica Epstein, LMFT
Co-Founder & Chief Designer of Meaningful Relationships
Erica brings warmth, intuition, and deep empathy to everything she does. Before becoming a licensed marriage and family therapist, she spent more than 20 years working with children, families, and educators — seeing firsthand how relationships shape every stage of life.
Her therapeutic lens blends attachment theory, narrative work, and a reverence for each person’s story. Through her work with individuals, couples, and families, she’s seen that the path to meaningful love begins with knowing — and accepting — yourself.
Real connection starts when we stop performing and start being seen.
Eric Epstein, Esq., LMFT
Co-Founder & Chief Insight Strategist
Attorney, mediator, and marriage and family therapist, Eric bridges emotional insight with decades of experience guiding people through life’s hardest transitions.
After 30 years as a family lawyer and mediator, he saw firsthand that many relationships unravel not because of incompatibility but because emotional readiness was missing from the start. His work inspired a new mission: helping people find connection that’s emotionally aligned from day one.
Love isn’t about finding perfect people — it’s about finding real ones, and showing up ready
Mind–Body Readiness,
Redefined
Gil Epstein
Co-Founder & Chief Insight Strategist
Attorney, mediator, and marriage and family therapist, Eric bridges emotional insight with decades of experience guiding people through life’s hardest transitions.
After 30 years as a family lawyer and mediator, he saw firsthand that many relationships unravel not because of incompatibility but because emotional readiness was missing from the start. His work inspired a new mission: helping people find connection that’s emotionally aligned from day one.
When you feel strong in your body, you show up stronger in love.
The Calm in Every Connection
Meet Ziggy
Chief Emotional Support Snuggler
Ziggy, our Goldendoodle and office heart, reminds us daily that connection starts with presence.
and that joy, calm, and unconditional love often come with fur.
Love Isn’t Random — It’s Designed
Every great relationship begins with emotional awareness.
We built Matched by Design to help emotionally ready people find each other — intentionally, insightfully, and with the kind of care that only therapists can bring. Because when psychology meets chemistry, love stops being a mystery — and starts becoming a masterpiece