'Owning Manhattan's Chloe Tucker Caine Had Mom Pose as Her on Dating Apps

"Owning Manhattan" star Chloe Tucker Caine says she swiped left on the man who would eventually become her husband several times ... before her mom took over her dating apps.

The breakout reality star stopped by "TMZ Live" Monday and imparted a bit of wisdom for anyone in the market for a spouse.

Chloe told us ... "A lot of times our parents see the best in us and they see a lot of times what we're missing."

But it took some serious convincing for Chloe to hand over the fate of her romantic life to her mother. Her mom persuaded her this was the way to go based on her own life experience. According to Chloe, her mother admitted to her that she picked someone based solely on looks ... and didn't want her daughter to suffer the same fate she did.

So this is how their little love operation worked ... Chloe says her mom posed as her, essentially screening Chloe's matches for her.

Chloe explained, "They didn't know it was her. They thought they were talking to me!"

According to Chloe, it saved her from having to talk to "a bunch of losers" day and night.

If Mom approved of the gents after messaging with them as Chloe, she passed them to Chloe who would continue texting and set up a date. Kind of like ethical catfishing.

"I was doing like 2 or 3 dates a night," she said.

And even with all those dates lined up, she still wasn't keen on meeting the man who would become her future husband. Chloe told us when her mom first showed her his pictures, she protested ... "Absolutely not. He's not my type. Never in a million years will I date this man."

Now, they've been married for 5 years and are raising a 2-year-old.