In a world where finding love often happens through endless swipes and ghosted chats, RTBF’s new documentary episode dares to ask a radical question: Can we still fall in love without dating apps?
“La Vraie Vie” — the beloved RTBF and Tipik documentary series — returns for its second season, diving once more into the real lives of Belgians navigating the mess and magic of modern connection. The first episode, “Finding Love Without Dating Apps… Really?”, explores what happens when people decide to meet in person again, away from algorithms and pixel-perfect profiles.
Since the pandemic, Belgian use of dating apps has dropped by 20%. Many users cite frustration — time wasted, fleeting flings, or worse, harassment. Only 5% say they’ve found lasting relationships online. Against this backdrop, La Vraie Vie follows three refreshingly real stories:
- Katty, 57, experiences her first speed dating night, caught between nervous laughter and quiet hope.
- Wouter, a sporty realist, reinvents his social life by meeting people through clubs and even the fitness tracker app Strava.
- France, cast in one of the episode’s funniest moments, attends a party where guests “pitch” their single friends using PowerPoint slides.
Through humor, warmth, and honesty, the show reminds us that love isn’t always in the palm of our hand — it might still be waiting at the café, in the park, or at the next queer night out.
For LGBTQ+ viewers, the series resonates on another level: it’s about reclaiming intimacy from digital fatigue, creating genuine community spaces, and allowing serendipity back into our love stories.
“La Vraie Vie” invites everyone — queer, straight, single, or somewhere in between — to rediscover the joy of spontaneous connection. Because maybe love can’t be coded after all.
🎧 Watch the episode here: “Finding Love Without Dating Apps… Really?” on RTBF Auvio
📺 Explore the full collection: La Vraie Vie — Documentary Series on Auvio
🎬 Produced by: RTBF and Tchic Tchac
You may also like
-
Rainbow Kids: A Pride Afternoon for Queer Families in Brussels
Rainbow Kids is a colourful, kid‑friendly event in Brussels that puts queer and rainbow families
-
“We Are Here”: LGBTQI+ Seniors Step Into the Spotlight in Anderlecht
In Anderlecht, a moving photo exhibition titled “Nous sommes là ! / Here we are!”
-
Mpox in Brussels: staying vigilant without giving in to panic
While mpox (formerly “monkeypox”) seems to have disappeared from the headlines, the virus is still
-
Expressions Mixtes 3: Brussels gets a festival where queer stories refuse to fit in one box
Every June, Brussels quietly grows a new kind of Pride: one made of dance floors,
-
European Testing Week: turning testing into queer self‑care
If Pride is about visibility and joy, European Testing Week is about something just as vital: making