George Bebbington said it was a “surreal” feeling after being accepted into the community
George Bebbington has appeared on a handful of TV shows(Image: George Bebbington)
A man said he felt like the “odd one out” after joining an “exclusive” app. George Bebbington, from Runcorn, is one of few people who managed to get accepted onto Raya – a “private membership-based community” many celebrities use to date.
The 24-year-old has appeared on several reality TV shows, with the most notable being Ex on The Beach. He said that thanks to his feature on the MTV show and connections to other social media influencers, he was able to get the green light onto the app.
Unlike other dating apps like Tinder or Hinge, you can’t just make an account and start swiping. The process is a little harder than that as two users must refer you to join. A team of 500 trusted members then “assess your social media profile” in terms of followers, profession, lifestyle, and whether you look the part.
The anonymous global committee reviews the applications regularly, with it being thought that only eight out of every 100 applications are approved. Most recently, it was reported that Lily Allen was back on the app following her split with Stranger Things’ David Harbour. Other celebrities rumoured to have been found on it include Zak Efron, Lizzo and Demi Lovato.
George told the ECHO: “I saw people talking about online, and it made me want to take a look. Originally I wasn’t able to get on, but after a few months, I tried again and was lucky enough to be successful.
“Initially, it was similar to Tinder, but it was filled with influencers and content creators. There were some more prominent people on there as well.
“It was interesting because I was excited to see who was on it and who was out and about. It was surreal to see this form of social networking compared to others.
George Bebbington has appeared on a handful of TV shows(Image: George Bebbington)
“I did feel like the odd one out. I felt like the normal one compared to everyone else who had lots of followers or fans. I don’t think anyone knew who I was, but they still had so much time for me. They weren’t ignorant at all.”
Raya was developed and launched in 2015 in LA by entrepreneur Daniel Gendelman to plug a gap in the online dating world. The launch of the app was incredibly secretive, and its message was spread only by word of mouth as the creators used no marketing campaign at all, adding to its elusive allure.
If you are accepted onto the app, you must pay a fee to join. Membership costs approximately £10 per month, but this can vary depending on your location. Raya is global and suggests profiles using an interest-based algorithm. You can also search for users in the app. For example, you could be on Raya in Liverpool and match with someone in LA.
George Bebbington also appeared on Date Me at My Worst (Image: George Bebbington)
George, who is bisexual, claims he matched with a male footballer, several TV stars and an Olympian. However, he deleted the app after beginning to date someone and hasn’t been able to get back on since.
He said: “I was a normal person there and thought that would’ve been stigmatised, but it didn’t. No one talked down to me or thought they were higher than anyone else. Everyone was equal, no matter their following.”