now he is the star of dating sites and even starred in their commercials

Joey Batista, 43, has been on at least 600 first dates, but he’s still looking for “the one.” The New York Post reported in more detail.

“I would like to meet someone,” Batista said. “I know how great it is when you’re in love.”

Batista, owner of the Joey Bats Cafe on the Lower East Side, says he has had hundreds of first dates since moving from Western Massachusetts to New York in 2013.

His phone is filled with the phone numbers of over 1,000 women he’s contacted over the years on sites like Tinder, Match, Bumble and Hinge.

“Once I moved to New York and changed my location to Match.com, the floodgates opened. I got all these messages from women. I am a super social guy and was new to town. It was very cool. I met so many interesting people,” said Batista, who once went on three different dates on the same day.

Not surprisingly, Batista dabbled in reality TV and even starred in a Match.com commercial.

He also appeared on NBC’s First Dates in 2017 and went on Kate + Date in 2019 where he had two dates with former TLC star Kate Gosselin.

“She was nice to me. I was chosen for a second date,” he said.

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In the end, the relationship didn’t work out.

“I don’t mean to say that I’m picky, but I’m just being honest about wanting to feel a certain way. There were times when I was more interested than the girls,” said Batista. I’ve had very few bad first dates. I like meeting new people.”

But he is not afraid of commitment. He was in a 10-year relationship with a girl, including five years of marriage. They divorced in 2011.

In 2016, in the midst of dating, he met a young Colombian beauty who caught his attention.

“After a few months, we were already in a serious relationship. It took me by surprise because I was just in casual dating mode. We were together for a year and a half,” he said.

With such a solid background in the dating industry, Batista really does have a type.

His parents are from Northern Portugal and he is fluent in their native language. He also speaks Spanish and is attracted to bilingual women from South and Central America.

“I find that when you speak a different language, you are more open-minded,” Batista said, adding that he prefers tall, athletic brunettes who can dance.

On a typical first date, he invites a woman for a drink. If they hit it off, he suggests they move somewhere else for more drinks and maybe a bite to eat.

On the second date, he tries to please the interests of the woman. “If she loves animals, maybe we can go to a horse farm,” he said. “It should be something fun, like listening to live music or dancing.”

Based in New York, the Lower East Sider now primarily uses Bumble and Hinge. “It seems to me that there are too many fake profiles in New York on Tinder. I will use it when I travel.”

Lately, he’s slowed down his dating speed. Since he opened another cafe in Chelsea. And soon he should officially open Gama Lounge, a football cafe.

“Right now, work takes up a lot of my time,” he said. He is also very close to his mother, Isabelle Fernandez, who works in a cafe but does not give love advice or persuade him to marry.

“She’s very nice to all the girls – until she decides she’s dating me,” he said.

I wonder what women think about him, but no one knows.

“If I had to guess, they would say, ‘Joey was a gentleman and a fun person. But he’s not serious.”

But Batista insists he is sincere in his desire to settle down one day.

“I want to get married and have children. She may be smart and beautiful, but if I don’t feel love, then it doesn’t matter,” he said. “Always follow your intuition.”