A Foreign Affair: Three Decades in the Public Eye
More than 30 years of television coverage, newspaper and magazine reporting, documentaries, feature film, radio, academic research and public scrutiny.
About A Foreign Affair
Since 1995, journalists, television producers, documentary filmmakers and academic researchers have examined A Foreign Affair, its clients, its tours and the broader international matchmaking field. This page brings that long public history together in one place.
A Public Record, Not Just a Press Page
Some coverage has focused on relationships and success stories. Other reporting has raised difficult questions about immigration, economics, cultural differences, fraud, exploitation and the broader international matchmaking industry. We believe the full range of attention is part of the historical record.
A History of Media Attention
A selection of notable milestones from A Foreign Affair's public history. Linked references favor a Loveme.com/A Foreign Affair archive page when one is available; otherwise the link goes to the original publisher, broadcaster, or the AFA media directory.
The Beginning
A Foreign Affair was founded in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1995. Within approximately one year, the company was already receiving substantial newspaper attention.
Phoenix New Times published "From Russia With Love" on March 21, 1996, an early profile examining John Adams and the developing international matchmaking operation.
Read the Phoenix New Times articleThe Washington Post
The Washington Post examined Americans traveling abroad in search of relationships and interviewed John Adams of A Foreign Affair. AFA's historical media archive preserves this period of coverage as international matchmaking became a subject of growing national interest.
Read The Washington Post articleTIME Magazine
TIME examined the rapidly developing online matchmaking industry and included A Foreign Affair in its coverage at a time when online dating itself was still new to much of the public.
Read the TIME articleThe New York Times
The New York Times published "American Lion Seeks Russian Lioness," examining Americans traveling to Russia and the international relationship industry.
Read the New York Times articleBBC
The BBC reported on Western men traveling to Eastern Europe to meet potential partners, adding an international news perspective to the public discussion.
Read the BBC referenceA Foreign Affair Becomes a Feature Film
The world of international romance tours became the setting for the feature film A Foreign Affair, also released as 2 Brothers & a Bride, starring David Arquette, Tim Blake Nelson and Emily Mortimer.
The production was filmed during an actual romance tour in Russia and used the A Foreign Affair tour environment as the backdrop for the story.
View AFA's page about the feature filmPhoenix New Times Returns
Phoenix New Times again examined A Foreign Affair, John Adams and the company's international operation, continuing a pattern of outside reporting nearly a decade after the company's founding.
Read the 2004 Phoenix New Times articleABC News / Nightline
ABC News / Nightline traveled to Ukraine with A Foreign Affair to examine international matchmaking, potential benefits and risks, and the experiences of people participating in the process.
Read AFA's Nightline coverage and responseNBC's Today Show and Bloomberg Businessweek
Major broadcast and business media examined the growth of international matchmaking, including A Foreign Affair, its founders, its business model and the wider controversies surrounding the industry.
View the Today Show reference in AFA's media directoryRead the 2011 Marie Claire article quoting AFA and referencing the Today segment
National Geographic: Bachelors Abroad
National Geographic / Bachelors Abroad followed A Foreign Affair clients as they traveled internationally, attended introduction events and went on dates. The production provided viewers with a direct look at the tour experience.
View AFA's Bachelors Abroad pageOur America with Lisa Ling and Love Me
A Foreign Affair provided extensive access to television and documentary filmmakers, including productions that followed participants beyond a single interview or event.
Jonathon Narducci's documentary Love Me followed Western men and Ukrainian women navigating international matchmaking and relationships over an extended period.
Watch Our America with Lisa Ling on Loveme.comRead AFA's Love Me documentary page
National and International Coverage
AFA's historical media directory documents appearances and references across major television networks, newspapers, magazines and radio. Click a publication or program name below to open the best available Loveme.com archive page or original source.
National Television
60 Minutes, Today, Nightline, Dr. Phil, Inside Edition, Maury Povich, Montel Williams, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and other programs.
Browse national television referencesCable and Documentary
National Geographic / Bachelors Abroad, WE tv, MTV, A&E, Discovery and documentary projects that followed clients and the international matchmaking process.
Browse cable and documentary referencesInternational Television
Coverage has included the BBC and Australian television / Sunday Night, reflecting interest in the subject well beyond the United States.
Browse international television referencesMajor Newspapers
The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Arizona Republic, The Sacramento Bee, Phoenix New Times and other publications.
Browse newspaper referencesMagazines
TIME, Maxim, Marie Claire, Glamour, FHM, Penthouse, Tokion and other national and international publications have examined the company or the industry.
Browse magazine referencesRadio
A Foreign Affair and its representatives have also appeared on radio programs and networks, including Loveline, BBC programming and USA Radio Network.
Browse radio referencesStudied Beyond the News Cycle
Academic work brings a different type of examination, often involving years of interviews, participant observation, fieldwork and analysis.
Dr. Lisa Simmons
Marriage, Migration, and Markets: International Matchmaking and International Feminism
Dr. Lisa Simmons conducted doctoral research examining international matchmaking, marriage migration, gender and the experiences of people involved in international relationships.
A Foreign Affair has identified Dr. Simmons' dissertation as an example of doctoral research for which the company provided access.
See AFA's historical reference to the Lisa Simmons dissertationDr. Julia H. Meszaros
Twelve Years of Field Research
Dr. Julia H. Meszaros, Associate Professor of Sociology at East Texas A&M University, conducted approximately twelve years of research into the international dating industry, including work involving Ukraine, Colombia and the Philippines.
Her doctoral dissertation, completed at Florida International University in 2014, examined the romance-tour industry through the lenses of gender, race, sexuality, emotion and transnational inequality.
Read AFA's article on the Meszaros researchView the detailed academic research bibliography
Economies of Gender
Masculinity, "Mail Order Brides," and Women's Labor
Rutgers University Press published Dr. Meszaros' book Economies of Gender: Masculinity, "Mail Order Brides," and Women's Labor on October 14, 2025.
The publisher describes the book as drawing on twelve years of fieldwork and examining the international dating industry across locations including Ukraine, Colombia and the Philippines. The book addresses gender, work, economics, intimacy and competing public narratives about the industry.
View the publisher's book pageGovernment and Public-Policy Attention
International matchmaking has also been examined in public-policy discussions involving international marriage, immigration, consumer protection and the responsibilities of international marriage brokers.
This part of the historical record matters because it shows that international matchmaking has been examined not only as a business and cultural phenomenon, but also as a subject of public policy, regulation and debate.
Three Decades of Scrutiny
The purpose of this history is not to suggest that every journalist, filmmaker or researcher reached the same conclusion. They did not.
Journalists
Major newspapers and magazines have reported on AFA and the international matchmaking industry.
Television Crews
National and international productions have attended events, traveled with participants and filmed the process.
Documentary Filmmakers
Filmmakers have spent extended periods documenting clients, relationships and the industry surrounding them.
Feature Film
The AFA romance-tour environment became the setting for an independently produced feature film.
Academic Researchers
Researchers have spent years examining international matchmaking, migration, gender, economics and intimacy.
Public Policy
The international matchmaking industry has also been examined in governmental and regulatory discussions.
A Foreign Affair has been willing to be examined. The resulting record includes praise, criticism, questions, observation, research and decades of public attention.
AFA in the Media
| National Television | 60 Minutes, Today, Nightline, Dr. Phil, Inside Edition, Maury Povich, Montel Williams |
|---|---|
| Cable Television | National Geographic / Bachelors Abroad, WE tv, MTV, A&E, Discovery |
| International Television | BBC and Australian television / Sunday Night |
| Major Newspapers | The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Arizona Republic, The Sacramento Bee |
| Magazines | TIME, Maxim, Marie Claire, Glamour, FHM, Penthouse, Tokion |
| Radio | Loveline, BBC programming, USA Radio Network |
| Documentary and TV Features | Love Me, Bachelors Abroad, Our America with Lisa Ling |
| Feature Film | A Foreign Affair / 2 Brothers & a Bride |
| Academic Research | Lisa Simmons, Julia H. Meszaros and other researchers |
A Long and Very Public History
From a Phoenix-based company founded in 1995 to an international operation, A Foreign Affair has experienced enormous changes in technology, travel, communication and the way people form relationships across borders.
The terminology has changed. The technology has changed. The countries and cities in which people meet have changed. The way people communicate has changed. But interest in how relationships form across borders has remained.
A Foreign Affair's history has been documented by journalists, filmed by television crews, followed by documentary filmmakers, used as the setting for a feature film and examined by academic researchers.
This page preserves that record as more than a collection of favorable publicity. It is a record of decades of public attention, independent observation, research and scrutiny.
Explore the Historical Media Archive
The A Foreign Affair media directory includes additional television, newspaper, magazine, radio and documentary references, including older items whose original broadcasts or articles may no longer be available online.
Historical media references are presented for informational purposes. Individual journalists, filmmakers, researchers and publishers may hold differing views of A Foreign Affair and the international matchmaking industry.
