“I’m not a model, a beauty queen or Miss Universe, and sometimes I’m not completely comfortable with how I look. But what I have inside and my personality beat every woman in the galaxy,” says Narkis Azran, 34, from Kiryat Shmona, this week’s bachelorette.
“I know who I am and what I can give, and 99% of men will fall head over heels for me. I’m simply not an ordinary woman. I’m not jealous, and I give a man plenty of freedom. I believe in a relationship that is friendly, romantic, warm and sexual, and my man will be a king.”
Narkis manages sales offices for a real estate company and divides her time between Kiryat Shmona and central Israel. She says that for love, and for someone truly worth it, she would live in any city.
In her spare time, she enjoys cleaning with music playing in the background, writing songs, prose and articles, dancing, watching soccer, television series and films, going to the beach and watching sunsets. She also likes picnics, cooking dinner with friends and traveling in Israel and abroad.
At the same time, she describes herself as a calm person who needs quiet after a long day at work. “Work is a very central part of my life because I have a very demanding position,” she says. “I invest all my energy in it, and by the end of the day I have no strength left, so it is harder for me to look for a relationship.
“On the other hand, if someone comes along whom I like, I’ll meet him even if I’m tired, because where there’s a will, there’s a way. I fight to make time for a relationship.
“A man who is intimidated by my job will automatically be disqualified, because I’m looking for someone who will empower me and lift me up, not someone who will be afraid of my strength and intensity.
“Once, I was texting with a man and replied several hours later because I was very busy at work. He wrote back, ‘Does the sun shine out of your ass? You can reach the prime minister faster than you.’
“Of course, I’m not into playing games, but he had no ability to delay gratification. I need a patient man. Even men who are initially concerned will later understand that it is not so intimidating, because there will probably be many changes in my life once I have a relationship and a family.
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“At the end of the day, I’m a homebody, and I don’t want a nanny raising my children. I cook and clean, and the man beside me will feel that I am really with him.
“I want to prepare dinner for him when he comes home from work and always be attentive to his needs and feelings, even when the relationship becomes routine and there are children.
“I don’t say this arrogantly, because I’m a very modest person, but I’ve been on many dates and had relationships, and there has never been a time when someone didn’t want me. It was always me.”
Why do you think that is?
“I’m not overly selective, and I don’t think I know everything, but my intuition has never failed me. I can sit with anyone and read him like an open book within five minutes. I can recognize potential in the first second of a meeting, a phone call or even a text exchange. It won’t work with a man who writes, ‘Hey, baby,’ or ‘What’s up, beautiful?’ You don’t know me at all, so why use pet names when they don’t mean anything to you?
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"Even so, I don’t tend to give up immediately. It is important to me to see the positive and give someone a genuine chance, but in the end, I always discover that my intuition didn’t lie. I understand that there is no perfect person, but there is someone perfect for me, and that is whom I am looking for. I’m not going to get married in order to divorce a year or two later. I want it to be forever. I want someone to grow old with.”
Describe the man you would like to grow old with.
“I used to be very strict, and there were things I refused to compromise on, but I’m not there anymore. He needs to be attractive to me, intelligent, witty, sharp, charismatic and self-confident. Someone who is present in the conversation and also shows interest. I like light and funny conversation, but I also want a lot of depth.
“On dates, I ask deep, unconventional questions, such as, ‘If you could meet any person, living or dead, for dinner, whom would you choose?’ The answer says a lot about someone. “It is also a way to see whether he turns the question back to me, because that shows whether he is interested in me too.
“I’m not rich, and money is not a factor, but it is important to me that he be financially stable, as I am, because I believe in growing together. I also want him to be family-oriented and connected to tradition, because I would like us to make kiddush together on Friday night. I’m looking for a man who gives me a feeling of security. Precisely because I’m a strong and independent woman, I need a supportive shoulder and a man I can lean on and trust.”
How do you usually meet men?
“Usually through mutual friends. I haven’t used dating apps for two years, and I’m less active on social media, but I do reply to messages if someone catches my attention. Unless he has tens of thousands of followers, because that puts me off. I’m looking for an old-fashioned man, someone focused on work and home, not someone occupied with this fake technology, likes and followers.
“I can simply walk into a grocery store and someone will approach me. I’m in favor of people approaching anywhere and at any time. I’m also the kind of woman who walks up and asks directly, ‘Are you single?’ because I’m very straightforward. I have confidence and believe in myself.”
What is your biggest flaw?
“I’m impulsive. Sometimes I act from emotion rather than from my head.”
What is love to you?
“Everything. To me, the meaning of life is to love and feel loved.”
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Do you believe in love at first sight?
“No. The heart falls in love with someone’s character, not at first sight.”
When was the last time your heart was broken?
“Six years ago, after a 10-year relationship ended. It broke my heart, and I thought I would never be able to love again.”
What have you learned about yourself in relationships?
“That I’m all in. When I love, I love completely. I fight for the relationship and don’t give up when things get hard.”
What is the most important element in a relationship?
“Healthy, proper communication. You can overcome anything when you know how to talk.”
What insults you?
“When someone diminishes me.”
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In your fantasy, what does the ideal relationship look like?
“He is my best friend. We come home at the end of the workday, prepare dinner together, sit on the balcony and tell each other how the day went. We consult, support each other, dream and plan everything together, from Friday night dinner to our next adventure, and there is still a spark of love in our eyes after years together.”
Do you have any deal breakers?
“Disrespect and infidelity.”
Smoking?
“It doesn’t bother me. I smoke too.”
What age range are you looking for?
“Thirty-three to 38.”
Would you consider dating a divorced man or someone with children?
“A divorced man without children.”
Tell us about your worst date.
“He smelled of sweat and came to pick me up in a car that looked like a garbage-filled storage unit. There was nowhere for me to put my feet. When we got to the bar, he ordered himself a beer and sat down without even asking whether I wanted something to drink. It wasn’t about money. It was about attitude and basic respect.”
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Describe the perfect date.
“A date I don’t want to end, one that lasts into the early hours of the morning. There are butterflies in my stomach, the conversation is deep, funny, respectful and pleasant, and it feels as though time has stopped.”
Should a man pay on the first date?
“It really doesn’t matter to me who pays. What interests me is whether there was a connection and whether I enjoyed the date. Money has never been a factor for me.”
What do you do in your free time?
“I look for something to clean at home.”
What is your favorite place and why?
“My mother’s home in northern Israel. That is my peace and quiet, and it is where I escape when everything is burning around me.”
What makes you laugh?
“Witty humor.”
When did you last cry, and why?
“A month ago, when my uncle died.”
How close are you to your family?
“Very, very, very, and once again, very.”
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What were you in a previous life?
“Definitely a screenwriter.”
What was the last series you binge-watched?
“Fauda.”
What music do you listen to?
“Mizrahi, Turkish and Spanish music, as well as classic Israeli songs.”
Tell us something nobody knows about you.
“Most people around me don’t know that I wrote a book.”
How would your friends describe you?
“Determined, perfectionistic and emotionally intelligent.”
What do you do on Friday evenings?
“Kiddush and Friday night dinner with my family.”
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
“Married with children.”
So where can someone approach you?
“Anywhere: on social media, at a traffic light, at work or through friends.”