I stood backstage, my heart pounding like a drum in my chest. At 33, I’d convinced myself that true love was still out there, waiting for me like a hidden gem in a sea of fool’s gold. My friends had laughed when I told them I was auditioning for “Pop or Drop,” that ridiculous dating show where desperation met spectacle under bright lights. “Samantha, you’re too smart for this,” my best friend Lisa had said, shaking her head. But after years of swiping right on apps that led to ...