1. Cinderella: Don?t Be Too Out There

Cinderella was no fool, that?s for sure and she certainly chose a perfect timing to run away and leave the prince longing to have her in his arms again! If she stayed she would have been exposed as a dirty maid but she ran instead choosing to be a mysterious beauty and the only woman in the kingdom prince has to work for. We all love an adventure, we love that sweet taste of uncertainty and we certainly love a challenge. That's what makes the dating so fun and the lack of it makes relationships fall into a rut! The ideal scenario? Show him that you like him, be honest and be yourself but don't let him think that youre sitting by the phone all day waiting for his call. Dont offer to reorganize your entire day according to his schedule, suggest a compromise (different day) instead and dont feel obligated to tell him your entire life story right away.

 2. Snow White: Don?t Give up Your male friends

Being surrounded with so many male friends (seven dwarfs) might have something to do with Snow White?s success and, although in real life a bit of competition and jealousy is always present at first, this might be one of the dating strategies to try out. Dating experts say that women who have a lot of male friends tend to be more social, able to overcome that male-female differences easier and, let?s not forget more faithful because they are able to draw a clear line between friendship and romance. Your prince will feel a bit threatened at first, but once he meets your ?male crew? and realizes they are indeed just friends, he will accept and, who knows, maybe even befriend them! 

3. Little Mermaid: Less Talk, More body Language

You dont have to be very talkative to win his heart and there is definitely no reason to be nervous simply because you lack verbal skills! Ariel couldn't talk at all and she still managed to get that gorgeous hunk go head over heels for her! Her secret? Body language! Most people don?t really pay a lot of attention to their body language and are completely unaware of the fact that it often speaks louder than words, which means that learning to communicate on this subconscious, almost primal level could make things much easier. It also means you don?t have to crawl under a rock or spend your free time trying to avoid him in case you've said something embarrassing because he might even think that was cute. Remember, Ariel used a fork as a personal grooming device and, regardless of how embarrassing and utterly weird that was, it didnt make her hunk wish to dump her back into the sea.

4. Jasmine (Aladdin): True love Is Prejudice-Free

Every person on this world is special, deserves to be loved and has a lot of love to give in return and you must never think, Oh, no way, Im too good for this guy? or, Oh, no way, this guy is too good for me?. Let this be one of your main dating strategies and watch the real adventure unfold. Sure, you will meet people with whom you have nothing in common but, in order to know that, you?ll have to talk to them first which is certainly a step up. Do you think Aladdin and Jasmine would have a happily ever after if Jasmine had been one of those posh, how you dare speaking to ME?? girls, with overinflated egos and super-fake attitude?

beauty  and the beast  Still a Diamond

Turning a beast into a prince works in fairytales and fairytales only and I strongly suggest not to try it at home. A beast will always be a beast ? not a lot of dating strategies can be applied here and trying to turn it into something that it is not will cause you a lot of pain. Raw or uncut diamonds are something completely different, of course, so if you find a man thats sweet, genuine and willing to let you polish him a little bit, the effort youre putting into your prince is well worth it

6. Rapunzel: Even Heroes Need a Little Help Here And There

He holds the umbrella for you when its raining outside, he opens the doors for you, he offers to come over and fix your heater despite the fact that he still doesnt know you so well and, most importantly, expects nothing but a warm cup of coffee in return? Yes, it might not sound like much these days but, believe me, he would be the one to come to your rescue even if it were dragons, evil enchantresses and scary giants instead of car troubles, broken electrical appliances or pushy dudes totally unable to understand that you already have somebody and that you are not interested. Your fearless hero, however, definitely needs a little help from you as well and since you're a modern princess (and modern princesses dont sport braids long enough to be used as a rope) offer him your hand, support, your undivided attention and understanding instead.

7. Sleeping Beauty: Let Him save You Once in a While

Now, Sleeping Beauty certainly has some interesting dating strategies to share and since I don't really have her permission to share them all, I'll just focus on the most important one ? the one that has helped her score a kiss and a happily ever after without having to move an eyelash! You see, although modern men are pretty picky when it comes to choosing women they want to spend their lives with and generally don't tolerate a lot of damsel in distress attitude, they still have the urge to ?save? you once in a while and you should definitely let them do so. Yes, I know you CAN do that but if he's around and offering to help, why turn a good offer down? Let him be your hero, let him save the day and reward him with a kiss, of course!

Yup, disney ladies definitely had some noteworthy dating strategies! They certainly worked like a charm back then and gave them that happily ever after no fairytale would be complete without but? Could they work their magic in the modern world, too? What do you think ? Are modern princes immune to these dating strategies? Send me your comments to pauline.sangham@gmail.com or pauline@lotusfm.co.za