If your Tamagotchi is an oldie, the matchmaker won't come at all.
MonkeyBoots55, I've always had the matchmaker come, even at 1st gen. On v4 and 4.5 she's very, very hard to catch seeing as she only stays on for 10 seconds. Try keeping the sound on.
And if you think I was joking about the 10 seconds, I'm not. If anything she stays on for shorter length of time.