From Mingle to Marriage 💜
Michael Smerconish’s Mingle Project was created to bring people together through meaningful conversation—and for Bill and Hilary, it did exactly that.
In 2024, both attended a Los Angeles Mingle Project meetup for the same reason: to connect with thoughtful people. Bill had tried dating apps and social groups but was looking for something more meaningful. Hilary wasn’t interested in dating at all—she simply wanted stimulating conversation after a season of major life changes.
At their first Mingle meetup, Bill was immediately drawn to Hilary’s intelligence, kindness, and curiosity. Hilary remembers Bill as thoughtful, engaging, and genuinely interested in hearing others’ perspectives. They met again at the next Mingle gathering, where a shared salad—and the exchange of a phone number to settle the bill—sparked a friendship that soon became something more.
Their first date was delayed when the Los Angeles wildfires forced Hilary to evacuate, but after the fires, they finally met for coffee. Coffee turned into dinner, dinner turned into love, and today, they’re engaged.
“The Mingle Project is a great way to create community,” Hilary says. “I would never have met Bill any other way.” She also credits the Minge Meetups organizer Bonnie Glushon with making her feel welcome from the very beginning and is grateful for the lasting friendship they formed through Mingle.
While the Mingle Project isn’t a dating service, it was designed to create opportunities for authentic, face-to-face connection in an increasingly disconnected world. Sometimes those connections become friendships. Sometimes they build communities. And sometimes, they lead to a love story.
Congratulations to Bill and Hilary—and thank you for sharing your story and reminding us what can happen when people simply show up, sit down, and start talking.
“I can’t imagine my world now without Bonnie in it, as well as Bill. Thank you, Michael Smerconish.”
