Danielle Gelfand
Writer. TV Producer. Carb Loving Half-Belgian.
Hi, I’m Danielle.
As an executive producer at VH1, I was a pioneer in the relationship programming space. For years, I created shows revolving around other people finding their partners but never me. While I had an amazing career by my mid-thirties, I was a closeted virgin who’d never been kissed, despite producing shows with names like Booty Call. Worse, I spent decades avoiding my difficult past as the only child of a Holocaust survivor and a father who committed suicide on the eve of Yom Kippur, when I was 17. Feeling empty and alone after months on the road with Mariah Carey, Madonna, and Gwen Stefani, I hit a low point when I realized I could not escape myself. At that moment, I decided to change, step by messy step, until the age of 48, when I finally became the star of my own never-too-late love story.
For years, I avoided my past by throwing myself into my career. Here is my appearance on Today with Hoda & Jenna, where I shared how I shifted my mindset to create the life I wanted, filled with love and family.
In my New York Times essay, The Wedding I Thought Would Never Happen, I shared my most painful secret with the world. By my thirties, I’d never been on a date, though I produced relationship shows. Tired of finding partners for others, I decided it was my time for big love.
Danielle in the Media
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