People from Around the World Share Their Worst Experiences with Online Dating
Dating, while exciting, can be pretty tough. Getting to know someone for the first time can be incredibly awkward — especially when the relationship begins behind a screen. Although the internet has made meeting new people much easier, it also has a handful of disadvantages. It may only take seconds to fill out a dating profile and have a plethora of matches to choose from, but there’s also a lot of, well, weird creepiness that occurs online. Just take it from the following people, who recently shared stories about some of the worst experiences they’ve had with online dating.
Cat-Napping
I went on a date with this cute girl. We talked about an hour, and she was fascinated when I brought up my cats. She was very eager to meet them so we proceeded to go to my place and spent a few hours just playing with my cats. She was about to leave, but before she put her shoes on to go, she says to me, “Oh, I forgot something.” She went to grab my youngest kitten (about four months old) and picked him up and started to walk out with him. I stopped her and asked her what was she doing. Her reply was, “I thought you let me adopt him.”
Very Serious
I met a guy on Tinder, and we talked for a while on Facebook before a meeting. He decides to come to my work for my lunch break. I was working 3rd shift at the time so this was at like 3 AM. I hung out in his car in complete silence while he played on his phone. Then he started to show me pictures of REAL corpses on his phone. I hopped out of his car so fast. That was my first and last Tinder date.
Blast from the Past
I matched with a guy I went to high school with who I always thought was really good looking and really cool. He played sports and was well liked by everyone, etc. I probably hadn’t seen him in two years at this point, but in his Tinder pictures, he still looked the same, so we agreed to meet up for coffee. He comes in with greasy long hair, a beard, and actually looked horrid, and he went on to tell me that he dropped out of college and has severe ADHD now. He couldn’t focus on one thing and was fidgeting the entire date. He told me how he’s now one with the Earth, and at the end of it, he told me he was gay. I’m a girl. I seriously thought I was being punk’d.
An Intense Interview
This guy kept asking me out for weeks and even called me (we had exchanged numbers eventually) to convince me, so I decided to give it a try. We decided to meet at a bar. He got there 30 minutes late and ordered a coke. Apparently, he was a recovering user. That’s not a problem for me, I just thought it was weird that he had agreed to go to a bar. Then, he proceeded to perform what felt like a job interview. At some point, I even sarcastically asked, “Am I doing okay here?” After 40 minutes of that, he got up, paid for his coke and said, “I’m gonna go, I have to get up early tomorrow.” He left, and we haven’t talked since.
Mama’s Boy
I had been on a few dates with a guy I met on Tinder, and things seemed to be going really well! We had common interests, he was funny, smart, attractive and incredibly kind. One evening, he invited me over to his house (we had always had public dates beforehand), and I agreed. The night started out great; he cooked dinner, we watched a movie, and things started to lead towards the bedroom. Before we got there, he asked if he could show me his favorite room in the house. Somewhat confused, I agreed.
He opened a door beside his bedroom, and we walked into a baby nursery. Not just any nursery, a nursery with an adult-sized crib, changing table, diapers, etc. He told me that he was into baby role playing and would be very happy if I would agree to be his mommy. I’m a very open minded person, but that’s not something I would be able to do for him, and I politely excused myself. He messaged me the next day, asking if I would reconsider, and I once again politely told him that we could no longer see each other.
Plenty of Fish
I noticed a cute French girl. In her bio, she mentioned there were some tadpoles in a pothole by her house that she wanted to rescue. I never know what to start off with so I figured this would be a good conversation starter. I ended up bringing a ladle (a spoon with holes in it) and we fished a few out of the pothole, put them in a jar and brought them to a nearby pond. The rest of this first and last date was super awkward but, hey, at least we rescued some tadpoles.
Romantic Robbery
I went on a date to a live music bar with someone I met on an app. The bar was in a sketchier part of the city, and we ended up getting jumped by some guy. He started out by asking to show us “card tricks,” cornered us, commanded us to kiss each other, and then took all of our cash. It’s definitely my weirdest “first kiss” story. We ended up being a little too freaked out to continue the date, so we ended up climbing a tree at a nearby park and talking all night, and then decided to get some late night waffles. We now see each other all the time, and I’ve actually never met anyone I’m so compatible with before.
Heavy Weight Talk
She spent the whole time making small comments about her weight and how she was “overweight.” She was definitely a bigger girl but was also extremely pretty, and I know how it is to feel insecure sometimes, so I don’t hold it against anyone…but my lord she would not shut up about it. The fact that she spent the whole date bringing it up left me drained.
Child Karate
About 10 minutes in, she karate chopped a child and then spent the rest of the date holding her blouse closed because one of the buttons had come off. Two years later we’re about to buy a house together.
Chapped Hands
Maybe not weirdest I guess, but just bad. We went to Olive Garden, and the conversation just wasn’t clicking. He looked a little different than his photos. The one thing that was weird (maybe it’s just because no one I know does this) was he kept putting Chapstick all over his hands. All night. Super weird to me. I’m awkward, so I’ll attribute some of it to me. That was five years ago, haven’t spoken to him since that date, and he just tried to add me on Snapchat a few weeks ago.
Spoiled Dinner
I was so stoked for a date I had with this very attractive girl. The conversation had been great, so I wanted to spare no expense. We went out to a nice place. The food’s good, and the conversation is strong. She takes a picture of her dessert to post on Instagram and then shows me the post with the tagline “When you’re on a terrible date but the dessert is fleek.” I cringed so hard.
Sneaky Snaps
The first date after my ex and I broke up was weird. I had spoken to her on both Tinder and Snapchat for a couple of weeks until the date. I get to the date, and she looks nothing like her profile pics or snaps. We have the date, and she even asks me about profile pics and says I look more handsome in real life than on the pics. I, however, can’t get myself to lie. But neither do I want to hurt her feelings, so I kind of just answer thank you without repaying the compliment.
After the date, I go in to give her a hug, and she pulls me in to kiss me. After that, I just hurried off. 10 minutes later she sends me a snap selfie, and once again I’m dumbfounded because it just doesn’t look like her! She had mastered the art of just the most perfect angle to look 10 times better in the photos than in real life.
Toy Story
I’ve been on ONE Tinder date. She didn’t look anything like the pics. She was much less attractive. We went to the mall and for ice cream, and after that she took us to a toy store. She was just walking around looking at the toys. I’m not really a rude person, so I stuck with it, but it was just terrible. Uninstalled Tinder after that.
Fatal Attraction
She ran me over with her car after seeing me with another girl three weeks after our first date. After our first date, I had told her I wasn’t interested. She took crazy to a new level.
Music Maniac
Went over to his place, turned on some music, and he spent the entire time scoffing at my choice of music and proclaiming how his choices were vastly superior. Went in for a kiss towards the end because may as well try at least and he was still attractive, but he was too busy complaining about my taste in music to even notice.
Check Mate
I swiped right because I found his bio humorous. “Just looking for a chess partner.” We messaged back and forth, and he seemed pretty normal so we decided to meet up for a drink. When I messaged him because I couldn’t spot him outside the meeting place, he said, “I’m the one with a chess board.” I had to break it to him that I had no idea how to play chess and that I thought his bio was a joke.
Lost in Translation
I show up and park across the street (zero parking at her place) and try telling her over the phone number she gave me 10 minutes earlier. Not a lick of comprehension on her part until eventually 20 minutes later she ventures out and sees me. Apparently, she had been using Google translate over messaging the entire time. Worst 40 minute date ever, and last time I ever offer to pick someone up on the first date without verbally talking first.
Caffeine Fiend
I met this girl at a coffee shop. I got iced coffee, and she got freshly made hot coffee. She proceeds to tell me how much she likes HOT coffee and chugs the entire cup of boiling hot coffee like it was normal…it wasn’t.
Inebriated and Disoriented
Me and a guy from Tinder exchanged numbers two years ago. He texted me for months, but he never wanted to meet up with me (should have been my first red flag). Just recently he messaged me again and said we should meet up. We went on about four dates. On our fourth date, he had been having beverages all day and was too inebriated to meet up with me for our planned date, so I just went to his condo to hang out with him. While there, he proceeded to have a 10 minute long conversation with me thinking I was a different girl. The girl he thought I was is his best friend’s pregnant wife who he’s been having an affair with. Seriously, are there any normal guys out there anymore?
Shaken Up
We went out for milkshakes, and she was inebriated and talked about her ex-boyfriend the whole time. Her ex-boyfriend called her, and she said something like “What the heck do you want? I’m with my new boyfriend!” I opted right out of that situation.
Ruining the Mood
We went to see a movie. The movie we planned to see was unavailable, but I talked about the fun of seeing a movie you hadn’t heard of with no expectations. We both went to the toilet before entering, and I waited outside the movie where we agreed. Turns out she changed her mind on going to the bathroom and went straight in. Because I waited, I had to move to my seat in the dark, as the movie had started. Finally got seated next to her, and it turns out the movie is about criminal assaults and other crimes. Putting an arm around her just never felt like the right move. We didn’t have chemistry anyway, but I sure messed that one up.
Knot into It
We met at a coffee shop and were just talking and telling each other facts about ourselves. He just happened to casually mention that he’s into bondage and is really good at tying knots. He even asked me if I wanted to see him do it in the middle of the coffee shop.
No Laughing Matter
I met this decent looking dude on Tinder, and he seemed fairly smart and interesting. We decided to go on a date at 11:30 p.m. to this cute gelato place. I meet him and realize that I’m definitely not attracted to him, but we have a pleasant time anyway. We drive around in his car for a while before I recognize it would be impolite not to invite him over. So, I do, making it clear that I’m not looking for anything beyond friendship. Then we start talking again in my house, and I find out he doesn’t think women are funny for some stupid reason and is just sexist in some distorted way. I excuse that although I’m pretty ticked off, and then he asks me if he can stay over since he lives with his parents and doesn’t want to disturb them late at night. So, I let him sleep in the other room, though I’m just uncomfortable with it at this point, and he leaves in the morning. He left his jacket behind, and it’s still in my house. I didn’t want to meet him again so I dumped it somewhere.
Fishy Behavior
Went over to the dude’s house. He was weird from the get go. Talked NON-STOP about nonsense and made sound effects for anything and everything. Showed me around. We ended up in his room with him serenading me with his guitar right off the bat. Then he rips off his shirt to reveal his goldfish tattoo. Not a real goldfish, the snack kind. Then just leans in to kiss me. Needless to say, I had my friend fake an emergency, and I had him blocked on Tinder and my phone before I left the end of his street.
Window Shopping
Last week I had a date with a guy in an Ikea, of all places. He had to go there anyway so it was more practical to him to combine his visit there with a date. Funny thing is that he was the one that didn’t want to go on a second date after that. My face must’ve shown him how I excited I was being in an Ikea.
Crazy Committed
We went to a local cafe, and the date went well until she flipped the crazy switch. She started inquiring when we would get an apartment together, as well as have children. She also wanted to know how many children we would have. She ended up messaging every day, multiple times a day, wondering why I didn’t want to talk to her. I ended up calling her and just telling her it wasn’t going to work. She flipped and told me our relationship was built on lies, and she was breaking up with me. We only went on one date.
Farmer’s Market Fiasco
This girl on OKCupid invited me to a farmer’s market. I’d never been to one. I thought maybe we’d go, enjoy the experience, then stop somewhere for drinks, etc. I show up, and she’s got multiple reusable shopping bags. The “date” was walking around chatting in the heat while she did her grocery shopping. The conversation was along the lines of, “What’s your favorite vegetable?” I don’t think “sauerkraut on a bratwurst” was the answer she was looking for. On the bright side, I walked her to her car (where we tacitly avoided the subject of another date) and then walked over to a brewery and was introduced to the wonderful world of take-home growlers.
Rough Romanian
My first ever Tinder date was with a guy from Romania. He was kind of cute, and I thought it was cool that he was from another country. We’d been texting for a week or so and he seemed interesting. We met at a festival, and the first thing that I noticed was that he was about 8 inches shorter than I’d expected and didn’t look much like he did in photos. Not a huge deal, a lot of people look different in photos. He also had way too much gross-smelling cologne.
After hurrying through the festival, we sat and chatted for a while, and I told him about how I love children and animals. He proceeded to tell me that when he lived in Romania, he used to like to pick cats up by their tails and throw them on top of houses and that it “didn’t really hurt them.” He also said that he thought Americans needed to discipline their kids more. After the conversation died down awkwardly, I made some excuse about needing to go home. To my surprise, he still wanted a second date.
The next guy I met on Tinder ended up being the absolute best date I’ve ever been on, and we’ve been together for almost three years now.
Girl Interrupted
His girlfriend, ex/girlfriend (not quite sure what she was, as he told me he was single) unlocked his apartment door and walked in on us watching a movie on his couch after we met for dinner. She was not happy and started yelling and cursing. It was super awkward, especially when her dog she brought came over and started sniffing me.
Luckily, he took her outside and calmed her down. She stood about 50 feet away quietly on the sidewalk while I left shortly after. I told him he should probably get off that dating site, so no one else has to go through the same awful situation he put me in.
Pizza with a Side of Cult
I went out with a dude who apparently was just on Tinder to try to convert people to his religion, but it was just a religion that he’d created for himself, and it involved using “science” with actual lab equipment he’d bought off of eBay to try to “cure death.” And he was convinced that Google had ripped him off, and they were out to get him because he was “the little guy,” and “they’re afraid that if I get too much power, I’ll expose them for who they really are.” And he bought a cheap garlic chicken pizza for us. Who eats a garlic chicken pizza? What?
