Chapter 2 Dating Ltd, the Manchester-based specialist dating business behind
Chapter2Dating.app, WidowsFire.dating and SoberLove.app, has recorded its strongest
trading performance since launching in 2022. Following three consecutive record-
breaking months, the group has reached break-even for the first time, grown to more than
20,000 members internationally, and is now preparing for its next stage of expansion.
Chapter 2 Dating Ltd has recorded three consecutive months of record revenue, with
May, June and July each setting a new company high. July became its strongest month
to date, with revenue 11.2% higher than the previous record.
The Manchester company’s two established widow dating brands, Chapter2Dating.app
and WidowsFire.dating, are both currently delivering record trading performances, while
the wider group continues to grow following the addition of SoberLove.app in 2025.
The results have also taken Chapter 2 Dating Ltd to break-even for the first time, meaning
revenue generated by the business is now covering both the cost of attracting members
and its day-to-day operating costs.
For an early-stage tech business which has spent its first four years investing in its platforms,
developing its brands and building an international membership, reaching that point
represents a significant commercial milestone. The company is now generating record
revenues while spending more than 50% less on marketing than at the same point last
year, demonstrating a significant improvement in the efficiency of its growth.
The business began in 2022 with Chapter2Dating.app, a specialist dating and community
platform created for widows and widowers. It has since expanded into a group of three
dating apps, adding WidowsFire.dating for widowed people seeking intimacy and
connection without necessarily wanting another committed relationship, and
SoberLove.app for sober and sober-curious singles.
Together, the three platforms now have more than 20,000 members across the UK, USA,
Canada and Australia, with around half of the group’s audience based in the United
States.
The company has also raised £450,000 in investment to date, with a number of its investors
themselves widowed and having first-hand experience of the platforms. One US investor
has since become engaged to a woman he met through Chapter2Dating.app.
Each of the brands has grown from communities and experiences founder Nicky Wake
understands personally. Nicky created Chapter 2 after becoming widowed herself
following the death of her husband Andy in 2020. When she eventually began dating
again, she found mainstream dating apps poorly suited to the complexities of finding
friendship, companionship or another relationship after losing a life partner.
Chapter 2 launched from that experience, while conversations among its members later
helped inspire WidowsFire after highlighting another frequently overlooked part of life
after bereavement, the desire for physical intimacy and connection without necessarily
being ready for a new long-term relationship.
SoberLove followed in 2025, inspired by Nicky’s own journey through alcohol addiction
and into sobriety, creating a dedicated dating and community platform for sober and
sober-curious singles.
With membership and revenues growing, Chapter 2 Dating Ltd is now preparing for its
next stage of development and international expansion. The company is also currently
developing a new AI product, with further details to be announced soon.
Nicky Wake, Founder and CEO at Chapter 2 Dating Ltd, said, “We’re incredibly proud of
where the business is today. Building a dating business from scratch in such a competitive
industry is not easy, so to reach this point and know that we have created something that
is both commercially sustainable and genuinely valued by our members feels like a huge
achievement.
“We’ve always believed there is room in the dating market for platforms that really
understand the people they are built for. We’re not trying to be everything to everyone,
our strength is knowing our communities, listening to them and creating places where
people feel understood and comfortable making connections.
“There is a huge amount more we want to do with Chapter 2 Dating Ltd. We have proven
the model, we have a growing international audience and we believe there is enormous
potential to take what we have built much further. We’re ambitious about the future,
including how we can use new technology in ways that genuinely benefit our
communities.