132 episodes

Smart Dating Academy helps busy, successful professionals to jump start their dating lives. We have a results-oriented, fun 8 step process - which transforms you into a better dater - helping you find "the one".

This podcast is meant to help you put more love in to your life, and more life in to your love

Smart Dating Academy - The Podcast The Smart Dating Academy Podcast

    • Education
    • 4.9 • 113 Ratings

Smart Dating Academy helps busy, successful professionals to jump start their dating lives. We have a results-oriented, fun 8 step process - which transforms you into a better dater - helping you find "the one".

This podcast is meant to help you put more love in to your life, and more life in to your love

    Divorce Doesn’t Have to Suck!

    Divorce Doesn’t Have to Suck!

    I am excited to have Wendy Sloane as my guest.

    Wendy is a former TV producer for The Phil Donahue Show and The Geraldo Rivera Show. During her career in broadcasting, she covered some of the biggest news stories of our time, including the O.J. Simpson and JonBenet Ramsey murders. She was also the host of the popular radio show "What's Up with Wendy" and started her popular podcast "Divorce Doesn't Suck" during Covid - about new perspectives and how to move forward and focus on the future and take the chance to restart with a blank new canvas.

    We talked about:


    Her career as a TV producer and what led her to change her career
    How her divorce led her to start her podcast
    What she knows now that she wish she knew then about divorce
    How dating looked like for her as a single mom
    Her experience with long distance dating (there were alot of FaceTime dates!)
    The process of smart dating
    The Golden Bachelor Show

    Listen up if you are a single man or woman dating at any time! Our conversation about Wendy's ideal man turned into a mini-coaching session about how to be a smart dater! So many great takeaways (and most things apply to women of all ages!). You don't want to miss this episode!


    Join our free newsletter database by signing up here:  www.smartdatingacademy.com/contact

    Follow us on Instagram at @smartdatingacademy

    Schedule your consultation with us here!   We are on a waiting list, and would love to help you!  https://www.smartdatingacademy.com/11-coaching/coaching-call-with-bela

    • 44 min
    OXYTOCIN & RELATIONSHIPS with Dr. Anna Cabeca

    OXYTOCIN & RELATIONSHIPS with Dr. Anna Cabeca

    Get ready to dive deep into the world of hormones with the charismatic Dr. Anna Cabeca! She is known nationally as The Girlfriend Doctor and is host of The Girlfriend Doctor Show. Dr. Anna is triple-board certified and a fellow of gynecology and obstetrics, integrative medicine, and anti-aging and regenerative medicine.



    From testosterone to estrogen, progesterone to dopamine, each hormone has its own unique influence on our emotions and behaviors towards our partner.
    In this episode, we will dive deep into the mysterious interplay between oxytocin and cortisol, and how it affects your romantic relationships, friendships, interpersonal dynamics, and overall well-being. She explains how the 'love hormone', oxytocin, can breathe life into your relationship, and grab practical tips to boost your oxytocin levels naturally through diet. We also talk about the secret behind the ebb and flow of intimacy as she demystifies the fascinating hormonal changes over time. 


    It's time to get intimate with your hormones, get enlightened, and spice up your life!


    Join our free newsletter database by signing up here:  www.smartdatingacademy.com/contact

    Follow us on Instagram at @smartdatingacademy

    Schedule your consultation with us here!   We are on a waiting list, and would love to help you!  https://www.smartdatingacademy.com/11-coaching/coaching-call-with-bela

    • 33 min
    Love with Tamsen Fadal ❤️

    Love with Tamsen Fadal ❤️

    I couldn't be more excited to have a conversation with the fabulous Tamsen Fadal - I met Tamsen while doing dozens of love segments on her TV Show in NYC on PIX11. Tamsen is an award-winning journalist (she won 13 Emmy awards!), speaker, author, podcast host and menopause advocate. She is dedicated to championing women’s stories being bold in midlife and beyond and shares advice and education on menopause, relationships, divorce and career so that women do not feel alone during this stage in their lives.

    We talk about:


    Starting a matchmaking business before dating apps existed and what she learned from that
    Tamsen's experience with divorce and dating after divorce
    How she met her 2nd husband and how she knew he was the one (and she didn't think she would ever remarry!)
    Advice on dating and meeting the one in midlife
    What an "easy relationship" REALLY means
    The moment that made her become a menopause advocate
    Tamsen's advice on taking the action to lead a fulfilling life
    Make-up tips (check out her IG for more amazing tips)




    Join our free newsletter database by signing up here:  www.smartdatingacademy.com/contact

    Follow us on Instagram at @smartdatingacademy

    Schedule your consultation with us here!   We are on a waiting list, and would love to help you!  https://www.smartdatingacademy.com/11-coaching/coaching-call-with-bela

    • 29 min
    Bianca, the Chemist, Finds Love in her 30s in Canada!

    Bianca, the Chemist, Finds Love in her 30s in Canada!

    This week we are bringing to you your favorite kind of episode: another love story from one of our dear clients who will inspire you with her self-awareness, action, and authenticity at a young age. Bianca is a 36-year-old Chemist who lives in Ontario, Canada. Bianca describes herself as a late bloomer and an introverted, independent woman by nature. By her mid-twenties nearly everyone she knew was married and often to the only person they had ever dated. Bianca was puzzled on how this worked for them, but not for her.


    After several unsuccessful relationships, Bianca still couldn’t analyze what had specifically gone wrong. One day, she saw Bela on the Steve Harvey Show and on Good Morning America and got in touch with Smart Dating Academy.  Through coaching and devoutly following the advice from Bela and Lindsay, she realized that she had so many false beliefs that were holding her back. Bianca soaked everything up during her sessions, got more confident in dating, AND adopted the mindset of being psychotically optimistic in her entire life.

    At the start of 2021, Bianca met Derek online and after their first date she thought that she would not hear back from him. But she did! They went on a second date and many more to follow. Bianca got to know him more and more and Bianca realized that he is the lid to her pot. Bianca and Derek got married last year in 2023 and couldn’t be happier to be real partners in life.   She is absolutely adorable, and you will hear your own story in hers.  


    Join our free newsletter database by signing up here:  www.smartdatingacademy.com/contact

    Follow us on Instagram at @smartdatingacademy

    Schedule your consultation with us here!   We are on a waiting list, and would love to help you!  https://www.smartdatingacademy.com/11-coaching/coaching-call-with-bela

    • 53 min
    The Science of Love

    The Science of Love

    This week, Dr. Wendy Walsh joins me to talk about the science of love. Known as America's Relationship Expert, Dr. Wendy Walsh is an award-winning television journalist, a Radio Host & Podcaster, the author of three books on relationships & thousands of print and digital articles.


    Dr. Wendy shares with us how she got to where she is today and how she went from news anchor to relationship expert, as well as what we can do to attract the best love.


    We talk about:

    What attachment theory is and how you can change your attachment style
    How different attachment styles work together in a relationship
    The importance your "tribe" plays in picking the right partner
    What butterflies in your stomach really mean
    What to do to get over being attracted to "bad boys" (and this may take a long time)
    The RIGHT way to process your feelings (shame is the hardest one to process!)
    The role self love and positive talk plays in finding true love
    How to have emotional conversations and why is it important in building great relationships
    What boundaries really are and how to enforce them the right way
    This episode is a must listen! Dr. Wendy drops so many lovely gems during our conversation that you don't want to miss!


    Join our free newsletter database by signing up here:  www.smartdatingacademy.com/contact

    Follow us on Instagram at @smartdatingacademy

    Schedule your consultation with us here!   We are on a waiting list, and would love to help you!  https://www.smartdatingacademy.com/11-coaching/coaching-call-with-bela

    • 41 min
    How to Be CONFIDENT During Dates!

    How to Be CONFIDENT During Dates!

    In this week's episode, I'm having a conversation with the lovely Dr. Sheva Assar about how we can amp up our confidence, especially in the dating world. Dr. Sheva is a clinical psychologist and she has a specific interest in the areas of self confidence, establishing and maintaining healthy, fulfilling relationships, and living authentic, value-oriented lives. Dr. Sheva believes that the relationship that we have with ourselves, particularly how we think and respond to ourselves, is the foundation for our relationships with others. Let that sink in for a moment!


    We talked about:

    How we can be more confident in a world that often makes us question ourselves

    How to challenge our own self-doubting beliefs & why writing them down before dates is so useful!


    Ask open-ended questions to build authentic relationships 
    How we can express how we feel the RIGHT way during a conflict/ disagreement
    Ways to be more authentic throughout the dating process
    How investing in other areas of our world can make us a more confident dater

    This episode is a must listen if you want to be more authentically YOU during dates!


    Join our free newsletter database by signing up here:  www.smartdatingacademy.com/contact

    Follow us on Instagram at @smartdatingacademy

    Schedule your consultation with us here!   We are on a waiting list, and would love to help you!  https://www.smartdatingacademy.com/11-coaching/coaching-call-with-bela

    • 32 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
113 Ratings

113 Ratings

Susie Ready ,

I LOVE Bela Gandhi’s SDA podcast

Dear Bela - I have listened to almost every single episode of your podcasts back to last fall and I’m going to keep going because I’m jloving them and I’m learning so much! I’ve discovered that you are brilliant, wise, intuitive, discerning, and you know how to quicky pinpoint the issues. Not just for romantic relationships, but for any type of relationship. And it’s so great that you’re willing to apply the teachings to your own life (real time therapy) — like when you talk about your relationship with your husband Andy or that episode about trauma where you analyzed your communication with your son when you were driving him to school! I sent that one to a friend to help her communicate with her own teen son. Your guests on every show are amazing and I take away helpful nuggets from each one. It’s hard to choose one favorite episode because I love so many. Listening to one of your podcasts before going on a date always makes me feel grounded, positive and hopeful. Thank you for offering this gift to the world.

erin 26 ,

Really Needed this Podcast!

Bela is a gem! Her approach to dating makes so much sense. And her kindness and optimism gives me hope and excitement for the future. Like others, I sooooo wish I could have learned this stuff back in my 20’s!

Denise in the Red dress ,

Bela Gandhi from Smart Dating Academy and Danielle Robby

Between the two of them such great knowledge. I enjoy so many of your podcast regarding the different ups and downs we have in our life cycles. Now, I know that I’m not the only one who has these little trials of life. Thanks for being there Bela! 😀💕

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