Desolate Dating

Creative dates, rural adventures, and the art of making your own damn fun.

There's nothing to do in a small town? Haylie Shipp is calling bullshit.

From pasture golf tournaments and outhouse races to dog-wash dates and stargazing in the back of a pickup, rural people have proven they're pretty darn good at making their own entertainment. So why do we keep falling back on the same old routines when it comes to dating?

In this solo episode of Desolate Dating, Haylie makes the case for putting a little more creativity into our relationships AND our everyday lives. Drawing inspiration from Mel Robbins, relationship research on shared experiences, and dating advice from Carleigh Ferrante, she explores why trying something new can make life more exciting and potentially bring a little spark back into a romantic relationship.

There's also a memorable story about a vacation with an ex that went spectacularly wrong. Turns out, traveling together can reveal quite a bit about a person's character.

And for the ranchers, farmers, and other busy rural singles and couples who say they don't have time for dates? We're talking about making the most of the time you already have. Sometimes a thoughtfully packed supper in the tractor or a blanket under the stars is all it takes.

But the biggest takeaway has nothing to do with your relationship status.

You deserve an interesting life, whether or not there's someone sitting across the table from you.

Resources Mentioned

Mel Robbins: 5 Fun Ideas to Shake Up Your Life & Get Out of a Rut explores getting out of familiar routines, finding adventures close to home, and creating a Never Been There, Never Done That list.

Relationship research: Try Something New Together: Research Shows Engaging in Self-Expanding Activities from the British Psychological Society explores how trying new experiences together can contribute to relationship satisfaction and help couples reconnect.

Carleigh Ferrante: Follow @mostlydating on Instagram for dating and relationship advice, and listen to her Mostly Dating podcast. Her six date categories inspired the creative dating challenge in this episode.

Your Desolate Dating Homework

First, start your own Never Been There, Never Done That list. Think of places you've never visited, experiences you've never tried, and opportunities you've been overlooking right in your own backyard.

Then, put something on the calendar within the next 30 days. Maybe it's a little road trip, an adventure, a social outing, a wellness activity, something educational, or a surprise date planned entirely by you.

Take your partner, invite a friend, or go by yourself. Just do something different.

Have a creative rural date idea or a dating disaster worth sharing? Send your story to Desolate Dating. We want to hear it!

Thanks to Our Desolate Dating Sponsors!

A huge thank you to the businesses and individuals who make Desolate Dating possible and support conversations about dating, relationships, and life in rural communities.

Presenting Partners

The Moss Lodge by Arneson Contracting – A unique getaway in Glasgow, Montana.

Glasgow Dental Clinic – Dr. Jolynn Capdeville and her team in Glasgow, Montana. Call (406) 228-2656.

Founding Sponsors

Ooo Shiny Fabrics

Cherry Creek Aesthetics

Busted Knuckle Brewery

End of the Road Vacation Rental

Dr. Kristen Strom, Coach & Keynote Speaker

J. Whittle Construction LLC – Nashua, Montana

Cottonwood Inn & Suites Hotel, Dining, and Convention Center

Thank you for supporting Desolate Dating and helping us bring rural dating stories to listeners everywhere!

© 2026 Ranchy Media LLC. All rights reserved.

Desolate Dating is created, owned, and hosted by Haylie Shipp and produced by Ranchy Media LLC.

Desolate Dating explores topics including loneliness, relationships, and emotional well-being. While we hope these conversations help listeners feel seen and connected, this podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health care.

If you are struggling, please consider reaching out to a trusted friend, family member, your healthcare provider, or a licensed mental health professional.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline if you are in the United States or Canada. If you are outside the United States or Canada, please contact your country's local crisis services or emergency resources. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency services.

To sign up for the newsletter, give topic suggestions, or submit your own Desolate Dating story, head to www.tinyurl.com/DesolateDating.

What happens when a small-town woman uses Tinder as a press release, a research project, and eventually, an actual dating app?

In this solo episode of Desolate Dating, Haylie Shipp opens her dating diary to share some surprising discoveries about online dating in rural communities.

It all started with a breakup and a uniquely small-town problem: How do you let everyone know you're single without making a formal announcement? Haylie's solution was Tinder. And the rumor mill did exactly what she'd hoped.

Years later, she's back on the dating app with a different mission. This time, she's exploring what it's really like to find love when the nearest eligible bachelor might be 200 miles away.

From expanding her Tinder search radius and discovering a surprisingly large rural dating pool to the psychology of swiping, unanswered matches, and ghosting, Haylie shares what she's learned about modern dating.

And yes, she has a confession to make about her own online dating behavior.

But this isn't just another story about frustrating dating apps and dead-end conversations. Sometimes a right swipe brings someone back into your life who you never quite forgot.

In this episode:

• Using Tinder to announce you're single in a small town
• The realities of online dating in rural Montana
• Why expanding your dating app search radius can change everything
• Oilfield workers, South Americans, Canadians, and the rural dating pool
• Tinder matches that never turn into conversations
• Dating app dopamine and the psychology of swiping
• Ghosting, boring conversations, and Haylie's own dating confessions
• An unexpected Tinder match with someone from 15 years ago
• Finding hope and unexpected connections in rural dating

Haylie also raises a glass to Chuck and Dusty, sharing a heartfelt reminder about grief, friendship, and keeping the memories of those we've lost alive.

Maybe the rural dating pool isn't quite as empty as we think. And maybe the person you're looking for is someone you've already met.

Join the Desolate Dating conversation

Have an online dating confession, a rural romance success story, or a spectacular dating disaster? We'd love to hear it!

We're also looking for participants in our Stranger Session blind-date photo shoot with C&M Photography.

Share your story, submit a voice memo, or learn more about Desolate Dating.

Thanks to our presenting partners!

The Moss Lodge by Arneson Contracting

A whimsical stay on the Milk River in Glasgow, Montana, with acreage to roam, a treehouse overlooking the river, a hot tub, and a main house built for entertaining.

Glasgow Dental Clinic

(406) 228-2656

Thanks to our founding sponsors!

• Ooo Shiny Fabrics
• Cherry Creek Aesthetics
• Busted Knuckle Brewery
• End of the Road Vacation Rentals
• Dr. Kristen Strom, Coach & Keynote Speaker
• J. Whittle Construction LLC | Nashua, Montana
• Cottonwood Inn & Suites Hotel, Dining, and Convention Center

Thank you to these businesses for their year-long support of Desolate Dating!

© 2026 Ranchy Media LLC. All rights reserved.

Desolate Dating is created, owned, and hosted by Haylie Shipp and produced by Ranchy Media LLC.

Desolate Dating explores topics including loneliness, relationships, and emotional well-being. While we hope these conversations help listeners feel seen and connected, this podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health care.

If you are struggling, please consider reaching out to a trusted friend, family member, your healthcare provider, or a licensed mental health professional.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline if you are in the United States or Canada. If you are outside the United States or Canada, please contact your country's local crisis services or emergency resources. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency services.

To sign up for the newsletter, give topic suggestions, or submit your own Desolate Dating story, head to www.tinyurl.com/DesolateDating.

Remember what you wanted in a partner when you were 22? How's that checklist holding up?

Maybe you wanted someone tall, attractive, financially stable, and ready to have kids. Fast-forward a couple of decades, throw in some heartbreak, a few wrinkles, maybe a divorce or a child or two, and suddenly that list looks a whole lot different.

This week on Desolate Dating, Haylie sits down with licensed clinical professional counselor Melanie Burner to talk about how our dating standards evolve as we get older. Melanie brings both her professional perspective and her personal experience navigating dating after divorce in a small Montana town.

We're talking about physical attraction, emotional availability, financial stability, parenting, and the difference between finding someone who checks your boxes and finding someone who actually makes you feel loved and supported.

And then there's the rural dating problem. When your dating pool is already small and spread across thousands of square miles, how many non-negotiables can you realistically have?

Connect with Melanie Burner, LCPC

Melanie is a licensed clinical professional counselor based in Montana who specializes in working with women with ADHD and autism. She is currently accepting clients and provides services to individuals located in Montana.

Email Melanie: [email protected]

Be Part of Desolate Dating

Have a rural dating story, a hard-earned lesson, or an experience that might make somebody else feel a little less alone?

We want to hear it!

Share your story or submit a voice memo here.

And if you're enjoying the podcast, help us grow! Follow Desolate Dating, leave a rating or review, and share an episode with a friend. Every share helps us reach more people navigating love, relationships, and the realities of dating in rural communities.

Thanks to our Presenting Partners:

The Moss Lodge by Arneson Contracting
A whimsical stay on the Milk River in Glasgow, Montana, with acreage to roam, a treehouse overlooking the river, a hot tub, and a main house built for entertaining.

Glasgow Dental Clinic
Keeping northeastern Montana smiling. Call (406) 228-2656.

And our Founding Sponsors:

• Ooo Shiny Fabrics
• Cherry Creek Aesthetics
• Busted Knuckle Brewery
• End of the Road Vacation Rentals
• Dr. Kristen Strom, Coach & Keynote Speaker
• J. Whittle Construction LLC
• Cottonwood Inn & Suites Hotel, Dining, and Convention Center

Want to partner with the show? Email [email protected].

© 2026 Ranchy Media LLC. All rights reserved.

Desolate Dating is created, owned, and hosted by Haylie Shipp and produced by Ranchy Media LLC.

Desolate Dating explores topics including loneliness, relationships, and emotional well-being. While we hope these conversations help listeners feel seen and connected, this podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health care.

If you are struggling, please consider reaching out to a trusted friend, family member, your healthcare provider, or a licensed mental health professional.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline if you are in the United States or Canada. If you are outside the United States or Canada, please contact your country's local crisis services or emergency resources. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency services.

To sign up for the newsletter, give topic suggestions, or submit your own Desolate Dating story, head to www.tinyurl.com/DesolateDating.

Could your online soulmate actually be a professional scammer? One Montana woman lost more than $200,000 to a romance scam, and her story is just one example of how sophisticated online dating fraud has become.

On this episode of Desolate Dating, Montana State Auditor and Commissioner of Securities and Insurance James Brown joins Haylie to talk about romance scams, fake dating profiles, artificial intelligence, and the warning signs that could save you from a very expensive heartbreak.

And here's where things get interesting for rural singles.

Talking to somebody online for months before meeting? Normal. Driving three or four hours for a date? Also normal. Having absolutely no mutual friends who can vouch for your new love interest? Happens all the time.

Unfortunately, some of those same circumstances can make a romance scam harder to recognize.

We're talking about the organized operations behind these scams, how criminals build trust before asking for money, why older adults can face especially serious financial consequences, and the embarrassment that keeps victims from reporting what happened.

Whether you're actively online dating, navigating a long-distance relationship, or know somebody who's looking for love later in life, this is an episode worth hearing and sharing.

Romance Scam Resources

Montana State Auditor's Office (United States)

The Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance provides consumer protection information and resources for people who suspect financial fraud.

Montana State Auditor's Office

Phone: 406-444-2040

AARP Romance Scam Resources (United States)

Learn how to recognize romance scams, identify warning signs, and protect yourself or someone you care about.

AARP: Romance Scams and Fraud Prevention

AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline: 877-908-3360

FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (United States)

Report Suspected Internet Crime

For listeners outside the United States, contact your local law enforcement agency or national fraud-reporting authority.

Thanks to Our Presenting Partners

The Moss Lodge by Arneson Contracting

A whimsical stay on the Milk River in Glasgow, Montana, with acreage to roam, a treehouse overlooking the river, a hot tub, and a main house built for entertaining.

Explore The Moss Lodge on Airbnb

Glasgow Dental Clinic

Taking care of smiles in Glasgow, Montana.

Phone: 406-228-2656

Thanks to Our Founding Sponsors

Ooo Shiny Fabrics

Cherry Creek Aesthetics

Busted Knuckle Brewery

End of the Road Vacation Rentals

Dr. Kristen Strom at Rooted in Wellness

J. Whittle Construction LLC — Nashua, Montana

Be Part of Desolate Dating

Got a rural dating story worth telling? A question? An experience that still makes you shake your head?

Send us your story or voice memo.

And if this episode makes you think of somebody who's navigating online dating, send it their way. It might be a conversation they didn't know they needed.

© 2026 Ranchy Media LLC. All rights reserved.

Desolate Dating is created, owned, and hosted by Haylie Shipp and produced by Ranchy Media LLC.

Desolate Dating explores topics including loneliness, relationships, and emotional well-being. While we hope these conversations help listeners feel seen and connected, this podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health care.

If you are struggling, please consider reaching out to a trusted friend, family member, your healthcare provider, or a licensed mental health professional.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline if you are in the United States or Canada. If you are outside the United States or Canada, please contact your country's local crisis services or emergency resources. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency services.

To sign up for the newsletter, give topic suggestions, or submit your own Desolate Dating story, head to www.tinyurl.com/DesolateDating.

Are your dating standards actually reasonable... or are you a little delulu?

This week on Desolate Dating, we're talking about dating standards, unrealistic expectations, and those lists we build when we're looking for a partner, especially when you're dating in rural America and the dating pool is already pretty dang small.

It all started with an anonymous male listener telling me about a VERY awkward Zoom date set up through a professional matchmaking service. Somewhere in that conversation, he also suggested I check out the Female Delusion Calculator.

So obviously, I did.

But this episode isn't really about a calculator. It's about the things we convince ourselves we absolutely need in another person. Height. Age. Looks. Income. Education. Location. Kids. Lifestyle. What happens when every perfectly reasonable preference gets stacked on top of another perfectly reasonable preference until we're looking for someone who may barely exist?

And we're not done with this conversation. In future episodes, we'll talk more about what should actually be on your dating list, how to recognize some of your own delusions without just "lowering your standards," and eventually we're going there: men vs. women.

THE DELUSION CALCULATORS

Keeper Standards Calculator

Female Delusion Calculator

How Delusional Are You?

These are for fun and conversation. Please don't make any major life decisions because an internet calculator called you delusional.

THANKS TO OUR PRESENTING PARTNERS

The Moss Lodge by Arneson Contracting
A whimsical stay on the Milk River in Glasgow, Montana, with acreage to roam, a treehouse overlooking the river, a hot tub, and a main house built for entertaining.

Book The Moss Lodge on Airbnb
Arneson Contracting & Construction

Glasgow Dental Clinic
(406) 228-2656

THANKS TO OUR FOUNDING SPONSORS

Ooo Shiny Fabrics

Cherry Creek Aesthetics

Busted Knuckle Brewery

End of the Road Vacation Rentals

Dr. Kristen Strom at Rooted in Wellness

J. Whittle Construction LLC | Nashua, Montana

Desolate Dating is about the reality of dating, relationships, and finding love in rural America, where the distances are longer, the dating pools are smaller, and sometimes our expectations deserve a second look.

© 2026 Ranchy Media LLC. All rights reserved.

Desolate Dating is created, owned, and hosted by Haylie Shipp and produced by Ranchy Media LLC.

Desolate Dating explores topics including loneliness, relationships, and emotional well-being. While we hope these conversations help listeners feel seen and connected, this podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health care.

If you are struggling, please consider reaching out to a trusted friend, family member, your healthcare provider, or a licensed mental health professional.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline if you are in the United States or Canada. If you are outside the United States or Canada, please contact your country's local crisis services or emergency resources. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency services.

To sign up for the newsletter, give topic suggestions, or submit your own Desolate Dating story, head to www.tinyurl.com/DesolateDating.

What does dating look like when you live in rural Montana, everybody knows everybody, and your dating pool feels incredibly small?

For Greg and Alysia Mosness, finding love in a small town happened when neither of them expected it. Alysia was navigating life after divorce, raising two kids and pretty convinced she wasn’t interested in dating at all. Greg had tried online dating, including Farmers Only, moved to small-town Montana and eventually stopped making finding someone the main focus of his life.

Then their friends decided they should meet.

In this episode of Desolate Dating, Greg and Alysia share their rural love story, from a Fireball-fueled setup and an awkward first meeting to dating with kids, blending a family and eventually building a life together.

We talk about small-town dating when everyone knows your business, dating after divorce, single parent dating, bringing someone new into your kids' lives, the realities of a limited rural dating pool and why finding the right relationship sometimes means letting go of the picture you thought you were looking for.

It’s a very Montana story about dating in your 30s, friendship, timing, family and finding love where you might not have expected it.

And yes, sometimes your pushy friends really do know better than you.

THANK YOU TO OUR PRESENTING PARTNERS & SPONSORS

The Moss Lodge by Arneson Contracting – a whimsical stay on the Milk River in Glasgow, Montana, with acreage to roam, a treehouse overlooking the river, hot tub and main house built for entertaining.

Glasgow Dental Clinic | (406) 228-2656

Ooo Shiny Fabrics

Cherry Creek Aesthetics

Busted Knuckle Brewery

End of the Road Vacation Rentals

Dr. Kristen Strom at Rooted in Wellness

J. Whittle Construction LLC | Nashua, Montana

CONNECT WITH DESOLATE DATING

Listen, watch, follow along, join the Population: Single newsletter or submit your own rural dating story at tinyurl.com/DesolateDating.

Interested in becoming a Desolate Dating sponsor? Founding Sponsorships are available through October 31, 2026.

[email protected]

© 2026 Ranchy Media LLC. All rights reserved.

Desolate Dating is created, owned and hosted by Haylie Shipp and produced by Ranchy Media LLC.

Desolate Dating explores rural dating, relationships, loneliness and emotional well-being through real conversations and stories. While we hope these conversations help listeners feel seen and connected, this podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health care.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the United States or Canada. Outside the United States or Canada, contact your country's local crisis services or emergency resources. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency services.

© 2026 Ranchy Media LLC. All rights reserved.

Desolate Dating is created, owned, and hosted by Haylie Shipp and produced by Ranchy Media LLC.

Desolate Dating explores topics including loneliness, relationships, and emotional well-being. While we hope these conversations help listeners feel seen and connected, this podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health care.

If you are struggling, please consider reaching out to a trusted friend, family member, your healthcare provider, or a licensed mental health professional.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline if you are in the United States or Canada. If you are outside the United States or Canada, please contact your country's local crisis services or emergency resources. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency services.

To sign up for the newsletter, give topic suggestions, or submit your own Desolate Dating story, head to www.tinyurl.com/DesolateDating.

Even a bad date gives you a good story.

After a couple of heavier episodes, we’re lightening things up with three dating stories that could probably only happen in Desolate Dating territory.

First, Haylie has a date over to her house when she notices a few innocent-looking “caterpillars” in the kitchen. Spoiler: they were not caterpillars. They were maggots. Falling. From. The. Ceiling.

Then, two listener voice memos prove exactly why we need more of you to send these things in.

One takes us back to the early days of Match.com, when a rancher welcomed a date into his home during calving season... only to discover after she left that nearly all of his groceries had disappeared.

And finally: the family photo album you absolutely do not want to recognize yourself in. A college relationship, a weekend meeting the parents, cucumbers being washed in a bathtub, and the sudden realization that her cousins were also his cousins.

Through marriage. No blood relation. We need to make that VERY clear.

HAVE A STORY? WE WANT IT.

The listener voice memos are pure gold, and we want more of them.

Dating disasters. Success stories. How you met your spouse. Something weird, hilarious, heartbreaking or so unbelievably small-town that nobody outside your zip code would understand it.

Record a voice memo or send your story at tinyurl.com/desolatedating.

Voice memos can be up to five minutes long. Once submitted, your story becomes the property of Desolate Dating and Ranchy Media LLC and may be used on the podcast, in print or on social media. Want to stay anonymous? Just say so.

THANKS TO OUR PRESENTING PARTNERS

The Moss Lodge by Arneson Contracting
A whimsical stay on the Milk River in Glasgow, MT, with acreage to roam, a treehouse overlooking the river, hot tub, and main house built for entertaining.

Glasgow Dental Clinic
Dr. Jolynn Capdeville and the team at Glasgow Dental Clinic are keeping northeast Montana smiling and supporting real conversations about dating in rural spaces. Call (406) 228-2656.

AND OUR FOUNDING SPONSORS

A huge thank you to the businesses supporting Desolate Dating from the beginning:

Ooo Shiny Fabrics

Cherry Creek Aesthetics

Busted Knuckle Brewery

End of the Road Vacation Rentals

Dr. Kristen Strom — Keynote Speaker and Coach

JWhittle Construction LLC — Nashua, MT

Interested in becoming a Founding Sponsor? The window is open through October 31, 2026. Email [email protected] for details.

FIND DESOLATE DATING

Listen. Watch. Subscribe. Send us your stories.

tinyurl.com/desolatedating

And if you enjoyed this episode, send it to the friend whose dating story NEEDS to be on this podcast.

© 2026 Ranchy Media LLC. All rights reserved.

Desolate Dating is created, owned, and hosted by Haylie Shipp and produced by Ranchy Media LLC.

Desolate Dating explores topics including loneliness, relationships, and emotional well-being. While we hope these conversations help listeners feel seen and connected, this podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health care.

If you are struggling, please consider reaching out to a trusted friend, family member, your healthcare provider, or a licensed mental health professional.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline if you are in the United States or Canada. If you are outside the United States or Canada, please contact your country's local crisis services or emergency resources. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency services.

To sign up for the newsletter, give topic suggestions, or submit your own Desolate Dating story, head to www.tinyurl.com/DesolateDating.

Rejection sucks. There’s really no sophisticated way to say it.

And when you’re dating in a small town or rural space, getting rejected can feel even more personal because sometimes it feels like you have an audience. Who knows? Who’s talking? What are they saying? And why does it suddenly feel like everyone has an opinion about your dating life?

In this episode of Desolate Dating, Haylie sits down with mental health therapist and substance abuse counselor Kathleen Raml to talk about romantic rejection, self-worth, and the stories we tell ourselves when something doesn’t work out.

They get into why rejection can hurt even when you weren’t all that interested in the person doing the rejecting, how changing “they rejected me” to “we weren’t a match” can shift the way we experience it, and how to deal with the very real, or sometimes perceived, small-town audience watching it all unfold.

They also tackle falling in love with the potential of a relationship before there actually is one, keeping one foot planted in reality while still letting yourself be a romantic, and knowing when it might be time to talk to someone.

Plus: Haylie learns it is perfectly acceptable to reject your therapist, and Kathleen shares the very unscientific beginning of the relationship that turned into her 20-year marriage.

Connect with Kathleen

Therapy: Kathleen provides mental health services through Integrated Therapy Solutions in South Dakota and Minnesota. Learn more about her services at Integrated Therapy Solutions or follow Kathleen’s therapy page on Facebook.

Katie J Entertainment: When she’s not working as a therapist, Kathleen also performs as Katie J, offering DJ services, karaoke and live music. Find her and booking information on Katie J Entertainment on Facebook.

Thanks to Our Sponsors

A huge thank you to the businesses supporting Desolate Dating and helping make these conversations possible.

***Presenting Partners***

The Moss Lodge by Arneson Contracting
Stay at The Moss Lodge on Airbnb
Arneson Contracting & Construction

Glasgow Dental Clinic

***Founding Sponsors***

Ooo Shiny Fabrics
Ooo Shiny Fabrics

Cherry Creek Aesthetics
Cherry Creek Aesthetics

Busted Knuckle Brewery
Busted Knuckle Brewery

End of the Road Vacation Rental
End of the Road Vacation Rental on Facebook

Dr. Kristen Strom at Rooted in Wellness
Rooted in Wellness

J. Whittle Construction

A Note About Mental Health

This podcast is intended for conversation, education and entertainment and is not therapy or a substitute for professional mental health care. If you are struggling, please consider reaching out to a qualified mental health professional or appropriate support resource in your area.

About Desolate Dating

Desolate Dating is about the reality of looking for connection when the dating pool is small, the distances are big, and everybody seems to know everybody.

Subscribe, follow, rate, review and share the show with somebody else navigating love, loneliness and dating in rural spaces.

© 2026 Ranchy Media LLC. All rights reserved.

Desolate Dating is created, owned, and hosted by Haylie Shipp and produced by Ranchy Media LLC.

Desolate Dating explores topics including loneliness, relationships, and emotional well-being. While we hope these conversations help listeners feel seen and connected, this podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health care.

If you are struggling, please consider reaching out to a trusted friend, family member, your healthcare provider, or a licensed mental health professional.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline if you are in the United States or Canada. If you are outside the United States or Canada, please contact your country's local crisis services or emergency resources. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency services.

To sign up for the newsletter, give topic suggestions, or submit your own Desolate Dating story, head to www.tinyurl.com/DesolateDating.

The highly redacted story of how I got here and why Desolate Dating exists.

This episode of Desolate Dating is different.

No guest. No interview. Just me, sharing a little of the story behind this podcast and why conversations about rural dating, loneliness, relationships and connection have become so important to me.

Consider this the Cliff’s Notes version of my diary. Not a tell-all. Definitely not a full dating history. But enough to understand the person behind the microphone and why I wanted to create a podcast about what it’s really like to be single in rural America.

I talk briefly about losing my brother, Dusty, to suicide in 2021 and how his experience with loneliness became an incredibly personal part of my “why.” At its core, Desolate Dating exists because I want people to feel less alone in their loneliness.

I also share my decision at 37 to stop waiting for the right relationship to create the family I knew I wanted and become a solo mom by choice.

Then there’s the highly redacted dating history. Four significant relationships. One engagement. Some lessons about what I want, some lessons about how I want to be treated, and the uncomfortable acknowledgment that sometimes I haven't been particularly great at relationships either.

And then there’s my current reality: 41, very single, raising a little boy, living 20 miles outside a Montana town of roughly 2,700 people and absolutely NOT using this rural dating podcast to find myself a man.

Small-town dating comes with a particular kind of math. Limited dating pools. Long distances. Everybody knowing everybody. Friends, exes and histories that overlap. Sometimes the challenge isn't simply finding another single person. It's finding someone who actually fits into your life.

That's what we're here to talk about.

Desolate Dating is for people navigating dating and relationships in rural communities, small towns and geographically isolated places. It's for people who know the ache of loneliness. It's for the families and friends who may not understand why finding someone isn't quite as simple as “putting yourself out there.”

And yes, it's also for those of you who are happily partnered but simply cannot look away from the spectacle.

This isn't a podcast about bashing men, women, relationships or being single.

It's about connection. It's about telling the truth about dating when geography isn't exactly working in your favor. And hopefully, it's about helping people feel a little less alone in their loneliness.

Thanks for pulling up a stool.

MENTAL HEALTH NOTE

This episode includes a brief discussion of suicide, grief and loneliness.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis in the United States, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You can also chat with the 988 Lifeline at 988lifeline.org.

If you are outside the United States, please contact your local emergency services or a crisis support service in your country.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

A huge thank you to our Presenting Partners, Arneson Contracting and Glasgow Dental Clinic, for believing in Desolate Dating and helping make these conversations possible.

Arneson Contracting
https://www.arnesoncontractingconstruction.com/

Glasgow Dental Clinic

And thank you to our Founding Sponsors:

Ooo Shiny Fabrics
https://www.ooshinyfabricsllc.com/

Cherry Creek Aesthetics
https://www.cherrycreeka.com/

Busted Knuckle Brewery

End of the Road Vacation Rental
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/865794729425954666

Dr. Kristen Strom at Rooted in Wellness
https://www.drkristenstrom.com/

DESOLATE DATING

Listen, watch, follow along, join the Population: Single newsletter or submit your own story:
https://tinyurl.com/DesolateDating

Interested in becoming a Desolate Dating sponsor? Founding Sponsorships are available through October 31, 2026.

[email protected]

© 2026 Ranchy Media LLC. All rights reserved.

Desolate Dating is created, owned, and hosted by Haylie Shipp and produced by Ranchy Media LLC.

Desolate Dating explores topics including loneliness, relationships, and emotional well-being. While we hope these conversations help listeners feel seen and connected, this podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health care.

If you are struggling, please consider reaching out to a trusted friend, family member, your healthcare provider, or a licensed mental health professional.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline if you are in the United States or Canada. If you are outside the United States or Canada, please contact your country's local crisis services or emergency resources. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency services.

To sign up for the newsletter, give topic suggestions, or submit your own Desolate Dating story, head to www.tinyurl.com/DesolateDating.

What happens when the Farm Babe talks less about farming and more about dating?

Michelle Miller, better known as the Farm Babe, joins Desolate Dating for a candid and funny conversation about rural dating, dating apps, long-distance relationships, and what it’s actually like to look for love when your career takes you all over the country.

Michelle is an agricultural advocate, keynote speaker, author, podcast host and social media personality who has built an audience of more than 400,000 followers. But in this episode, we’re skipping the agricultural myths and politics and talking about something arguably just as complicated: finding a good person to date.

We get into the Hollywood version of marrying a farmer or rancher, whether farm conferences are actually a good place to meet someone, meeting a rancher “in the wild,” dating-app fatigue, bad profiles, long-distance dating, and what actually makes someone stand out.

Michelle also shares what she’s looking for in a partner, why a little dirt isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker (hygiene, after all, is relative), and why married men at agricultural conferences need to wear the damn ring.

Underneath the laughs is a conversation a lot of single people will recognize: dating takes work. Geography matters. Timing matters. And being a successful, driven person doesn’t automatically make finding your person any easier.

CONNECT WITH MICHELLE MILLER | THE FARM BABE

Learn more about Michelle, her work, speaking and social media at:

The Farm Babe

THANK YOU TO OUR PRESENTING PARTNERS

Desolate Dating is proudly supported by our Presenting Partners:

Arneson Contracting & Construction

Glasgow Dental Clinic

THANK YOU TO OUR FOUNDING SPONSORS

Oo Shiny Fabrics

Cherry Creek Aesthetics

End of the Road Vacation Rental

Dr. Kristen Strom

BECOME A FOUNDING SPONSOR

Founding Sponsorships for Desolate Dating are available through October 31, 2026. If your business or organization would like to support honest conversations about dating, connection and life in rural communities, contact [email protected] for sponsorship information.

ABOUT DESOLATE DATING

Desolate Dating is a podcast about dating, relationships and connection when the population is small, the distance is big, and finding your person can feel like a numbers game. Through honest conversations, real stories and plenty of humor, we’re talking about what dating actually looks like in rural America.

© 2026 Ranchy Media LLC. All rights reserved.

Desolate Dating is created, owned, and hosted by Haylie Shipp and produced by Ranchy Media LLC.

Desolate Dating explores topics including loneliness, relationships, and emotional well-being. While we hope these conversations help listeners feel seen and connected, this podcast is not a substitute for professional mental health care.

If you are struggling, please consider reaching out to a trusted friend, family member, your healthcare provider, or a licensed mental health professional.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline if you are in the United States or Canada. If you are outside the United States or Canada, please contact your country's local crisis services or emergency resources. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency services.

To sign up for the newsletter, give topic suggestions, or submit your own Desolate Dating story, head to www.tinyurl.com/DesolateDating.