Tali Ribkin, 27, from Ramat Gan, says she is alarmed by what she sees as a growing dating culture centered on money. In a wide-ranging interview, she said some women on TikTok openly admit they will not see a man again if he does not pay, while others go out thinking that if the date is bad, at least they will eat for free. She also argued that many men signal their wealth too directly, which then attracts women for the wrong reasons.
Ribkin, a mental coach focused on self-expression and fulfillment for women, is also studying therapeutic writing and spending much of her free time on a romantic film she is writing. She hosts the podcast “Ma HaSipur?” about an identity crisis she went through about a year and a half ago. She said her career in influencer marketing had become “technical” and draining, and that she began asking God who she was and what she wanted to do.
The film idea that emerged centers on a relationship between two traumatized people, a survivor of the Nova massacre and a combat soldier. Ribkin said the writing process opened something in her because she saw herself in the lead character. She said she spent years believing she would not have a relationship until she was a “finished product,” but now feels worthy of love. She said the October 7 attack also shook her, because she feared something could happen to her before she had ever experienced love.
Ribkin said she has gone on only a few dates and has never had a relationship, though her family and most friends support her. She wants a man who is funny, articulate, motivated, charismatic, and spiritually higher than her. She prefers “dark-skinned” men with stubble, likes men who initiate simply and confidently, and says she is drawn to a partner who is clear and direct rather than dramatic. Her deal-breakers are lies, disrespect, extreme jealousy, games, and drama, and she said the most important thing in a relationship is respect.
She described love as a safe space and partnership, said she believes in attraction at first sight rather than love at first sight, and added that she would rather a man approach her in the street. Her ideal date would be simple, in the sea or desert with wine or beer and pizza. She said her most recent disappointment was a negative response from a production company about her film, while her long-term goal is a family, a business, and a first film she can be proud of.
