One woman's journey from a courtroom to a calling. How a divorce at 36 sparked a mission to transform matchmaking for every community — and beyond.
Founder & Lead Matchmaker
Aira Mehta spent twelve years as a corporate lawyer in Chicago, specializing in family law at one of the city's most respected firms. Day after day, she sat across from couples dismantling their lives — and saw something that the legal system couldn't address: the profound loneliness that came after. The judgment. The isolation. The whispered conversations at community gatherings. For women especially, she noticed, divorce wasn't just a legal proceeding — it was a social exile.
Then, at 36, Aira went through her own divorce. She experienced firsthand what her clients had been telling her for years: many communities didn't know how to hold space for people whose relationships didn't follow the expected script. Friends didn't know what to say. Aunties had opinions. And the dating world — with its apps and algorithms — felt cold, transactional, and utterly disconnected from the values of culture, family, and intentionality that had shaped her life.
Instead of retreating, Aira leaned in. She enrolled in matchmaking certification, studied the Gottman Method for couples therapy, and trained in attachment theory and family systems. She began taking private clients — divorced professionals, single parents, never-married 30-somethings — people the traditional matchmaking world had overlooked or didn't know how to serve. Within two years, she had a waitlist of over forty people. OpenRoots was born in 2022 from a simple, radical belief: that every person, at every stage of life, deserves a matchmaker who sees them fully — and that the right introduction, made with care and intention, can change everything.
The Journey
Aira graduates from Northwestern Law and joins a top Chicago firm, specializing in family law. She witnesses firsthand how legal frameworks fail to address the emotional realities of relationships.
After her own divorce at 36, Aira experiences the isolation and judgment that society often directs at divorced women. She begins studying relationship psychology and matchmaking as a calling.
Aira earns her Certified Matchmaker (CMI) credential and completes training in the Gottman Method, attachment theory, and family systems therapy. She starts taking her first clients privately.
With a waitlist of 40+ clients, Aira launches OpenRoots as Chicago's first boutique matchmaking service specifically designed to welcome people at every life stage — never married, divorced, or single parents.
OpenRoots expands to a team of 5 certified coaches and matchmakers, each bringing unique expertise in areas like divorce recovery, cross-cultural relationships, and single-parent dating.
Why We Exist
Traditional matchmaking — the kind run by well-meaning aunties and community elders — works beautifully for some. If you're young, never married, and ready to settle down along a predictable timeline, there are dozens of services built for you. But if you don't fit that mold? If you're divorced, or a single parent, or over 35, or navigating the complexities of a bicultural identity? The options evaporate. You're told to compromise. To lower your standards. To be grateful for any attention at all.
Dating apps haven't solved this. They've made it worse — reducing people to photos and swipe decisions, stripping away the context, the screening, the human judgment that real matchmaking requires. An algorithm can show you who's nearby. It can't tell you who's emotionally available. Who's done the work. Who's genuinely ready for the kind of relationship you're looking for. That takes a person. A trained person. Someone who asks the hard questions on your behalf.
OpenRoots exists to fill that gap. We built a matchmaking service that doesn't judge your history — we use it. Your divorce taught you what you won't compromise on. Your years as a single parent gave you clarity about what kind of partner would enrich your family's life. Your cultural background shaped your values, and we honor that — while welcoming people from every background who share those values. We exist because the right introduction, made with care, can rewrite a person's entire future. And we believe everyone deserves that chance.
What We Stand For
We tell you the truth — about compatibility, about readiness, about what we're seeing. Kindly, but always honestly. Our clients trust us because we never sugarcoat. When something isn't working, we say so. When someone isn't ready, we help them get there. Honesty is the foundation of every relationship we help build — including ours with you.
Every client, every stage of life, every background deserves to be treated with respect. No judgment. Ever. We've worked with CEOs and teachers, with people who've never been married and people rebuilding after their third divorce. Your story is sacred to us. We honor it by treating you with the same care we'd want for our own family.
We move carefully. One introduction at a time. Quality over volume, always. In a world of endless swiping and disposable connections, we choose the harder path: deep screening, real conversations, and introductions that carry weight. Every match we make represents weeks of consideration. We'd rather make one great introduction than ten mediocre ones.
This is one of the most vulnerable things a person can do. We never forget that. Putting yourself out there takes courage — especially if you've been hurt before. Our team leads with empathy in every conversation, every screening, every coaching session. You're not a profile to us. You're a whole person with a whole heart, and we treat you accordingly.
Our Team
Five certified coaches and matchmakers, each bringing unique expertise and a shared commitment to your journey.
Meet Our Coaches →