{"id":473085,"date":"2026-02-17T03:37:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T03:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/473085\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T03:37:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T03:37:09","slug":"bay-area-woman-who-bought-marry-me-billboards-gets-date","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/473085\/","title":{"rendered":"Bay Area woman who bought ‘Marry Me’ billboards gets date"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love may be free \u2014 but not for a woman who plastered \u201cMarry Me\u201d billboards across busy roads<\/a> for a Valentine\u2019s Day date.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople will be shocked by how much I\u2019ve spent,\u201d Lisa Catalano told The California Post. \u201cI will definitely release the financial breakdown when I\u2019m all done and am engaged.\u201d<\/p>\n

The splashy campaign<\/a> Catalano launched in fall 2025 generated more than 4,000 applications through her website.<\/p>\n

She then went through each application, narrowing the pool down to about 50 men, then to 20 before finally landing five first dates back in the fall.<\/p>\n

Catalano\u2019s Valentine\u2019s Day outing \u2014 not with a candidate from the initial batch of applications \u2014 wasn\u2019t a first meeting, but with someone she\u2019d been seeing for about a month.<\/p>\n

Catalano said the bulk of the expense has gone toward billboard advertising, with placements running along Highway 101 between Santa Clara and South San Francisco.<\/p>\n

The pair went to see a romantic comedy before heading home to cook dinner together, opting to keep things \u201csimple and relaxed\u201d rather than brave crowded restaurants.<\/p>\n

While she has not decided on exclusivity, Catalano said she is enjoying the dating process and meeting new people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was simultaneously the most stressful time of my life but also the most magical thing that\u2019s ever happened to me,\u201d Catalano said when asked if the search was worth it. \u201cThe entire time I\u2019ve been optimistic that this will all work out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Any man she goes out with is required to sign an NDA to protect both herself and the men, preventing anyone from leaking details or having ulterior motives.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI just really wanted to provide protection for myself and protection for them as well,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Catalano said the bulk of the expense has gone toward billboard advertising, with placements running along Highway 101 between Santa Clara and South San Francisco.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince I don\u2019t have billboards in SF itself, I opted to do the taxi toppers there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In San Francisco, she supplemented the freeway ads with digital taxi toppers, which at their peak ran on around 20 cabs.<\/p>\n

She stopped running those as of Jan. 1, she said. The taxi ads played for roughly 30 seconds at a time, though she added with a laugh that she wasn\u2019t entirely sure of the exact timing.<\/p>\n

Her initial campaign included 12 billboard locations, which she later scaled back around October to six to eight at a time.<\/p>\n

Lisa Catalano poses with one of her billboards. TikTok\/marrylisaofficial<\/p>\n

For Valentine\u2019s Day alone, she ran 14 special \u201cHappy Valentine\u2019s Day from MaryLisa.com\u201d billboards for two days along Highway 101. The billboards appear in rotation, playing for about eight seconds at a time, she said.<\/p>\n

Beyond advertising, Catalano also paid for her website domain and hosting \u2014 building the site herself \u2014 along with promotional materials such as business cards, flyers and custom buttons.<\/p>\n

She purchased a printer and covered the cost of paper, ink and organizational supplies after printing and manually reviewing thousands of applications on her own.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did it all manually, by myself, no help,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In the Bay Area, where the cost of living and advertising prices are sky-high, the endeavor has cost thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n

Beyond the staggering financial commitment, Catalano \u2014 a tech veteran who now freelances while running a vintage clothing resale business \u2014 says the emotional toll has been just as heavy. Since launching the campaign, she has been branded as \u201cdesperate\u201d by online critics.<\/p>\n

A screengrab of Lisa\u2019s website, which she created after getting frustrated with dating apps. Marry Lisa<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people call me desperate, and for me, I don\u2019t think I\u2019m desperate,\u201d Catalano said. \u201cI think I just know what I want and what I\u2019m looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the campaign started out of frustration with dating apps that weren\u2019t producing meaningful conversations or dates.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started it as a joke out of frustration, and it just kind of snowballed from there,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

The vitriol is often personal and aggressive.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are going to die alone and you deserve it,\u201d one applicant wrote. The same individual attacked her age and choices, adding, \u201cShouldn\u2019t have fumbled the bag when you were 20, you stupid c***.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the application asked if there was anything else he\u2019d like Lisa to know, he simply added: \u201cLol, f*** you.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of Lisa\u2019s billboard. TikTok\/marrylisaofficial<\/p>\n

In responding to accusations of not dating early in life, the bachelor said she was was in a committed relationship in her 20s. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe was terminally ill for several years and died. I had to start over with dating at that point,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n

Despite the hate and trolling, Catalano says the wave of support she receives has been helpful.<\/p>\n

One supporter reached out to commend her \u201cimmense courage,\u201d noting that he and his wife are \u201crooting for her\u201d to find a partner who shares her adventurous spirit.<\/p>\n

He shared that he uses Lisa\u2019s story as a lesson for his own daughter, telling her to \u201cnever settle for less than you deserve\u201d and praising Lisa for being unapologetic about her non-negotiables and preferences.<\/p>\n

Catalano says she reviews all applications, automatically disqualifying anyone international due to proximity, or anyone outside her age range.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority of the applications were easy to weed out,\u201d she said. \u201cA lot of people filled it out as a joke, or they didn\u2019t meet basic compatibility requirements, or said they didn\u2019t want to get married, which are deal breakers for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you are a bachelor between the ages of 35 and 47, the application is still open.<\/p>\n

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