Straight, single men of Charlotte: are you okay? Have you gone into hibernation? Is there such a surplus of wonderful women that you’ve gotten lazy with your dating habits?

I know some of you just want to hook up and that’s fine.

You swipe on apps or slide in DMs or meet people out at the brewery and it works for you.

But there are plenty of you who actually want a relationship.

So, what’s the deal?

My podcast, The Margarita Confessionals, recently hosted a speed dating event.

The women’s seats filled up within a few hours, and then the waitlist grew and grew. “Add more spots!” excited participants pleaded.

However, getting single guys to show up was a challenge.

We got a few strong candidates, and then we stressed and did everything we could to spread the word. Eventually all of the seats filled, but we couldn’t figure out why it was like pulling teeth.

Were the guys so busy combing through their infinite flow of dating app matches that they didn’t have time to meet women in person?

Or were they just lazy and/or not interested?

I look at the pool of candidates for my Agenda Blind Date series and I’m blown away by the women who have applied.

We have attorneys, business owners, and women who’ve dedicated their lives to non-profit work. They’re smart, funny, attractive, and truly interested in meeting someone.

My pool of men is 1/5 of the size.

I’ve got a few gems, but the majority feature half-complete applications, or applications peppered with biting snark that make me hesitant to set the person up with anyone, for fear of a first date horror story that’ll fall on my shoulders.

I was at a meeting last week talking to a marketing manager who’s tasked with organizing singles events.

Her complaints echoed mine – The women show up! They’re excited! The straight, single guys? We’re not really sure where they are. If you find out, let me know.

To add insult to injury, when I see my straight, single guy friends, they ask if I know anyone worth meeting.

“As a matter of fact, I do!” I’ll say, listing the name of a person or describing the pool of eligible bachelorettes just waiting to be matched via Blind Date, while simultaneously picturing the speech I’ll give at their wedding.

“Oh. Maybe,” the inquirer will say, shrugging his shoulders, motioning for our other friend to get him another drink. “Can I see a picture?”

Is it simply just a single, straight dude’s market right now?

When can we expect the bubble to pop?

Are you all hunkered down together somewhere playing Red Dead Redemption 2?

What is happening?