Presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg's
revelation that he met his husband on Hinge has led to a spike in gay
users for the dating app.
Fortune
reported that Hinge received a 30 percent increase in gay men using
the service since April 1, about the time Buttigieg's popularity
began to soar. Other demographics have remained flat.
Buttigieg, the openly gay mayor of
South Bend, Indiana, came out in a 2015 op-ed for the South Bend
Tribune. He met Chasten two months later on Hinge. The couple
married last year.
On the campaign trail, Buttigieg, 37,
has repeatedly said that he came out because he wanted to begin
dating.
(Related: Pete
Buttigieg, husband Chasten cover TIME magazine.)
Speaking with The
New York Times, Chasten said that he decided to try Hinge
because he “wanted a platform where you're not necessarily
inundated with hookup culture and sex.”
“We're proud of all of the
relationships we've helped set up – including Mayor Pete and
Chasten,” Hinge founder and CEO Justin McLeod told Fortune.
“We're happy to see that their love story has inspired even more
members of the LGBTQ community to find their person on Hinge.”