Matchmaker
TV producer finds work-life balance — and romance
Former ‘Dr. Phil’ producer launches online dating business.
Tera Roberson Stidum never thought she’d be a dating expert.
In 2015, the single mother and former “Dr. Phil” producer decided to give Match.com a try. She met her match — Reginald Stidum, 42, a businessdevelopment expert — and got engaged on her 40th birthday, then married in March.
“This is what I prayed for,” she said.
Stidum recently launched a digital dating consulting business, SheDatesSavvy.com, to help women navigate online dating. “I don’t believe women are going to find a husband in the grocery store and at Home Depot,” she said. “I know the stigma of online dating is still there, so I want to empower women to find love.”
Stidum helps clients write dating profiles, select photos and guide them through the dating process, even down to how to communicate on a date. She also has male clients.
Stidum says her journey has taken some twists and turns.
After an internship with ABC’s “The Deborah Duncan Show,” the Houston native and University of Houston journalism graduate discovered her love for TV producing. She had a talent for keeping guests and the audience engaged.
“I like people and have good comedic timing, so I became the hype girl — the one who could get the crowd energized for the show,” she said.
She went on to work with Fox’s “Texas Justice” and “Judge Alex” shows (both taped at Fox 26 in Houston) and became known as the “Tera-rizer” for her ability to get guests to open up and share their stories in front of the camera.
In 2007, Stidum, who by then had a 3-year-old daughter, Madison, moved to Los Angeles to work as an associate producer on “Dr. Phil.”
“It was the most grown-up experience of my life,” she said. “Before I moved to L.A., I led a pretty charmed life. My parents have been married 50 years, and my mom would take my daughter to and from school. When I moved, my village was gone.”
She hired a nanny to take care of her daughter while she worked long hours. The stress of a frantic work schedule and little time with her daughter wore her down. In 2014, she landed in the hospital with an anxiety attack. It was then she decided it was time to return to Houston for a less stressful life.
“I walked away as a producer on a top daytime talk show and two Emmy nominations,” she said. “But I knew it was time to leave.”
Stidum is now a special projects producer for KPRC Local 2. Her quality of life has “improved tremendously,” she said.
The SheDatesSavvy creator will host her first workshop from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Intero Real Estate, 2800 Kirby in West Ave.