Former Philly radio host Kendra G helped two strangers find love. This Saturday, she’ll attend their South Jersey wedding.
Dave Lesley and Destiney Wilson credit the DJ with bringing them together.
Wedding bells are set to ring for couple Dave Lesley and Destiney Wilson. The two love birds will exchange vows on Saturday in Riverside, thanks to former Philly radio host and matchmaker Kendra G.
From 2008-12, Kendra G was a host on 100.3 The Beat, now known as Philly’s WRNB. She started her online matchmaking show on Instagram Live, Kendra G Singles Live, in 2020 when the dating world, as she puts it, felt like “Will Smith in I Am Legend” amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Thousands tuned in to watch romantic hopefuls list their do’s and don’ts.
One of her more popular guests was Lesley, who drew hundreds of “crazy” messages and comments from viewers after his March 2021 appearance on the show.
Lesley said he was looking for a woman between 27 and 37 years old with large, beautiful eyes, natural eyebrows, lashes, and hair, and with no children unless “Jesus was willing to cosign,” he joked in the video. He also wanted someone willing to have two to six children — but it had to be an even number. An odd number didn’t sit well with Lesley.
The audience felt that Lesley, at 47, was “too old” to have such high expectations. “The audience can be a little toxic,” he said. “I had to persevere through all these women saying, ‘He’s looking for a unicorn. He’s too old to want someone that young. Someone that young is going to want him for his money.’ And that’s not what happened. God brought me everything I was looking for.”
The viral video led to several dates, but none of those relationships lasted beyond a couple of months, Lesley, a project manager in the aerospace industry, said.
Nearly two years later, the L.A.-based romantic was still searching for love. And in 2022, he said, he “found his Destiney.”
That would be Wilson, a South Jersey-based attorney. A fan of Kendra G Singles Live, she often watched old clips of the show on her commute to work.
In December 2022, the Atlantic City native stumbled on Lesley’s interview, and reached out to see if he would be interested in a friend of hers who she thought checked all of his boxes.
“My gut reaction was, ‘Oh, he’s handsome, he seems charismatic, and he seems like he has good qualities.’ But because of his age and some of the other things about his personality, I initially thought he would be a great match for [my friend],” Wilson said.
When she reached out, Lesley was smitten with her instead. “And then it turned into something like, ‘Oh, you would be a better match for me,’ and then we got to know each other.”
Despite the 20-year age gap and three-hour time zone difference, Lesley, 50, and Wilson, 30, sparked a romance from one coast to another. Their first date was at Ocean Prime in Center City, and they shared their first kiss at Alpen Rose in early 2023. By the fall, Lesley and Wilson were engaged and looking at wedding venues.
The couple is tying the knot in front of dozens of friends and family members, and Wilson plans to relocate to L.A. (Wilson says she’d be open to two or three kids, but Lesley is hoping she’ll round up to four.)
They both credit Kendra G’s online show for their union, so they added her name to the guest list with the hope she could carve out time in her busy schedule to attend. The former Chicago WGCI radio host said she wouldn’t miss it for the world.
“[Wilson] represents everything that [Lesley] wanted,” she said. “He was married before, so he was very clear on what he wanted this time around in a relationship.”
Kendra G will meet the couple for the first time in-person this weekend at their wedding.
Wilson and Lesley are one of many couples who have wed after connecting on Kendra G Singles Live, which expanded to a mobile dating app in May.
During her trip to Philly, Kendra G is hosting Speed Dating Mix & Mingle at West Philly’s Tasties Restaurant on Friday. The speed-dating event has already taken place in Chicago and Dallas, but she’s excited to play Cupid and deliver a message to the romantic hopefuls in her old stomping grounds.
“Before you search for love, search for yourself,” she said. “If you want love, just look in the mirror. But if you want a person to enjoy life with, start by being honest with yourself. Do a self-assessment and see where you can improve to attract who you desire.”