Clarity Before Chemistry

Build trust early. Ask the right questions. Walk when actions don’t match words.

Join us for a Chicago gathering for women who want real trust from the start.

Learn the conversations that reveal intentions by date three, lead with honesty, and choose “thank you, next” without second-guessing yourself.

Picture this: You match with someone on an app, noticing they are “open to” a long-term relationship. Three dates in, their actions aren’t lining up, and then comes the dreaded phrase, “I’m not looking for anything serious right now.”

If you’ve experienced this, you’re not alone. Building trust in early dating is so important, but can feel elusive.

Led by Dating Coach Lauren Fondriest, this gathering features relationship expert panelists in discussion on:

• How much trust should be given first vs. earned first
• The conversations that will help you discover your date’s intentions
• Honing your discernment and learning when it’s better to say, “thank you, next”
• Role modeling and leading the honesty you’re craving in a relationship
• How your self-worth and emotional regulation can support your resilience in dating

This is a space to feel understood in your dating experiences, connect with other women who can relate, and learn the skills to build a healthy relationship from the start.

This event will include:

• Panel discussion with relationship experts Helen Wyatt, LMFT, CST, a Sex & Relationship Therapist, and Nicola Navon, Relationship & Intimacy Coach, on how to build trust in early dating
• Q&A and group discussion to navigate your own dating experiences
• Connection opportunities with other women who are single and/or dating
• Light bites and drinks will be served

We’ll gather at Fabrik Chicago, in River North.

Learn about Fabrik

Fabrik is a home for communities where everyone has a place to belong. With spaces designed to feel more like your living room than your office, Fabrik’s third spaces are vibrant hubs where people can come together in real life, explore interests, forge meaningful connections, and build a sense of community.

Learn about Lauren Fondriest, Women’s Dating Coach

Lauren Fondriest is a certified coach with years of experience coaching executives and teams at EY and Fortune 500 companies.

After experiencing years of dating disappointment herself, she applied her own coaching tools to change how she showed up in love - and it worked.

Now in a joyful, aligned marriage, Lauren supports other ambitious women in doing the same.

As a Women’s Dating Coach, Lauren’s coaching style is strategic, affirming, and purpose-driven: she helps women date like they mean it.

Find Lauren at: https://laurenfondriest.com

Learn about Helen Wyatt, LMFT, CST

Helen Wyatt, LMFT, CST is a marriage and family therapist, certified sex therapist, and relationship expert.

She specializes in helping people repair trust, deepen emotional connection, and create relationships that feel alive, intimate, and sustaining.

She is the owner of AE Collective and practices sex therapy, couples therapy, individual therapy and somatic experiencing therapy in Chicago, Illinois, and Colorado.

Find Helen at: www.ae-collective.net

Learn about Nicola Navon, Relationship and Intimacy Coach

Nicola Navon is a relationship and intimacy coach and host of the Divine Union Podcast, where she explores the evolution of modern love, polarity, and sacred partnership.

Her work centers on wholeness and the balancing of our masculine and feminine energies within and between relationships for better intimacy, relational leadership, and communication.

With over a decade of expertise in human behavior, somatics, neuroscience, and communication, she equips couples and individuals to transform conflict, restore desire, and build relationships rooted in mutual admiration, respect, and devotion.

Find Nicola at: www.nicolanavon.com

Lauren’s Event Philosophy

I’m cultivating a community where women stop waiting to be chosen and start choosing with purpose. Think: dating pep talks, confidence boosts and support from like-minded women on your journey to finding love.

Event Venue

Fabrik Chicago, 440 North Wells Street, Chicago, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

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