In dating, throw out the rules, the etiquettes and the aptness and just be you. In love, just as in life, the best way to find happiness is by being yourself.

Unfortunately, this is not the general message out there.

Vh1’s ‘Tough Love,’ a dating-101 reality show, presents a long list of rules on how to behave, what to say and what to keep silent about on dates to ensure another date.

The show focuses on eight women as different from one another in their personalities as in their dating troubles. It airs Sunday nights at 10 p.m.

While similar to ‘The Millionaire Matchmaker’ on Bravo, and from the same producers of the ‘He’s Just Not That Into You’ movie, ‘Tough Love’ has the exact same concept as the film, only it works much better as a reality show.

The women go on a series of dates or ‘tests’ while matchmaker and host Steven Ward evaluates the dates and advises the women. Ward, though harsh at times, is honest and quick with his comebacks.

Along with Ward’s criticism, the women also get to hear ‘feedback’ from other men, mostly the ones they date.

Ward’s mother, also a matchmaker, sometimes chimes in to console the women when their dates go wrong.

Though a bit loutish at times, the show is largely truthful in mirroring women’s dating faux pas.

There are some questionable methods that make for entertaining viewing but seem a little extreme. For example, in one of the first episodes, while on dates, the women receive small electric shocks whenever they bring up inappropriate subjects such as ex-boyfriends or anything negative.’

In another test, one woman labeled as a ‘gold digger,’ who will not admit that she is one, while at a party at a mansion gets introduced to the wealthy home owner who in reality is an actor, twice her age, playing the role. Just as expected, she takes a shine to him.

The 39-year-old independent woman is a complete opposite to the ‘gold digger,’ though she comes with her own drama.

In one episode she has a mini-breakdown because her date keeps asking why she is still single and has never been married. All that drilling, she admits, makes her feel as though there is something wrong with her. Ward’s explanation: The man, smitten by her, was just having trouble understanding why this great woman was alone.

Another colorful character is the over-sexed woman, who becomes physically intimate too soon. Her longest relationship, she says, has lasted two weeks, which Ward explains is her way of keeping her emotions safe.

Ward has his less-than-brilliant moments. In Sunday’s episode, he said one woman suffers from a common problem: ‘She thinks too much.’

Sure, there are a dozen or so dating reality shows on television, but Vh1’s ‘Tough Love’ is one worth a glimpse and, unlike most other reality shows, no one gets eliminated here.
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