Hallmark Star Decides to Join Dating App: ‘Life is Short’

Getty Dating apps on a cell phone

As her new Hallmark Channel character revisits relationships in her past, Andie MacDowell is focusing on a future with someone special by her side. During an appearance on “The Late Late Show With James Corden,” the star of Hallmark’s new hit series, “The Way Home,” confirmed that after years of being single and resisting looking for love online, she’s been convinced by her grown daughters to join a dating app. Unsure how to get started, she had fun letting Corden and fellow guest Billy Porter conduct an impromptu photo shoot for her profile pic and offer advice as she dives into a new era of dating.

Andie MacDowell Gets Help With Dating App From James Corden & Billy Porter

GettyActress Andie MacDowell

MacDowell, 64, has been married twice, according to the TODAY Show — first to former model Paul Qualley from 1986 to 1999, and again from 2001 to 2004 to businessman Rhett Hartzog. Though she hasn’t been opposed to dating in the years since, in July 2022 MacDowell told the Sunday Times she had no interest in dating apps.

“If somebody came in and enhanced my life, someone I was going to be romantic with, you know, sexual with, maybe. I would accept it,” she said. “But to tell you the truth they just don’t show up. And I’m not going on an app. It’s not going to happen.”

However, MacDowell has since changed her tune. On January 24, 2023, during MacDowell’s “Late Late Show” appearance, Corden said he’d heard her daughters — Rainey and Margaret — had convinced her to join the dating app Raya.

According to Page Six, Raya exclusively serves influencers, artists, and those in the entertainment industry. Celebrities who’ve admitted to joining the app in the past include Lizzo, John Mayer, Demi Lovato, Drew Barrymore, Chelsea Handler, and Nick Kroll, who met his wife on it.

“At first I was resisting it,” MacDowell told Corden, adding that she’d since warmed to the idea but told her daughters she wanted to attract someone who’s fine with her being very laid back.

“They didn’t like this idea,” she said. “I thought I would put on there ‘Don’t expect much, I don’t feel like working very hard.’ Something like that with me in my hiking clothes.”

Corden and Porter joked that she might as well just write “Google me” and not even add a profile pic. When Corden asked how soon she plans to join Raya, MacDowell began to say “ASAP” but then recalled she didn’t have a good profile pic and needed help deciding what to use.

When Corden offered to take one on-the-spot, MacDowell exclaimed, “Let’s do it, please!”

With Porter hilariously using a cue card as a fan like a professional photo shoot might have, and Corden using his cell phone to snap pics, MacDowell tried multiple poses — from happy to serious to jokingly giving her cleavage a boost.

As the trio laughed, Porter exclaimed, “You’re gonna get a lot of dates, girl!”

The following evening, MacDowell posted a clip of her appearance on Instagram, joking that she’d had a glass of champagne before going on-air, but said she’d follow through on her decision to join Raya.

“Here’s to having a good time,” she wrote. “Life is short…laugh as much as you can.”

Andie MacDowell Says ‘Glam’ Appearance Was Fun But She’s Back to Her Hiking Gear

GettyAndie MacDowell and Sadie Laflamme-Snow at the January 11, 2023, screening of Hallmark Channel’s “The Way Home”

The morning after her “Late Late Show” appearance, on January 25, MacDowell shared in her Instagram Stories that while it was fun to get all dolled up for the night, she was looking forward to getting back into nature.

Over a photo of her in her dressing room the night before, she tagged her stylists and wrote, “Thank you everyone for glam. I’m back to my old pants, my T-shirt and sweaters today. Going for a hike…last night was fun”

MacDowell also posted a video of a bunch of roadside mailboxes and wrote, “Going to hike today! Hate gossip … Love the sound of birds and Mr Rogers”

She continued, “I am very concerned that our society is much more interested: In information than wonder. In noise rather than silence. How do we do that?”

MacDowell’s newest role as Del Landry — a farmer and grandma in “The Way Home” — aligns well with her personality and lifestyle today, and her desire to portray aging women as strong and vibrant.

In early January, she told Parade magazine, “Hollywood informs our social ideas and our culture. We’ve bought into the idea that men can age but women cannot.”

Allowing herself to embrace rather than hide her age has even made dating “better,” she told The Sunday Times, noting that growing out her gray hair during COVID lockdowns has ensured men don’t expect her to be someone she’s not.

“I might have looked younger and more acceptable to someone before,” she said, “but I want to be appreciated for where I am, for my age. And the response from men has been, ‘You look beautiful.'”