Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Judge Judy’s Dating Advice: Don’t Go for Schlubs

If you don’t listen to your mother maybe you’ll listen to some dating advice from Judge Judy.

Judy Sheindlin paid a visit to Ellen DeGeneres Tuesday and talked about what she learned from over 20 years at the helm of her TV court show “Judge Judy.” Of all the things that bother her, like bickering over minutia, the misguided choices women make while searching for a mate are what irk her the most.

“Women make a terrible mistake because they usually are so desperate to nest, that they pick on schlubs and worthless pieces of trash that they pick up in a bar,” Sheindlin said, not mincing any words.

“And then turn around and give them the keys to their car, invite them to move in, give them a credit card, and they’re surprised one day when their car is gone, their credit card is maxed, and they’re alone,” she added. “They seem to replicate that behavior again and again. And that frustrates me. It especially frustrates me when women are taken advantage of.”

“That’s why I don’t date men,” DeGeneres said.

Sheindlin, who has been married twice to her current husband, Jerry Sheindlin, said the most important thing women can do is retain financial independence and a career to fall back on so they have the freedom to leave a bad situation or relationship. “Teach your daughters, teach your granddaughters, everybody has to have something that they’re good at where they can earn a living,” she advised the audience.

Amen to that.

Listen to her wise words and watch the video here:

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.