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Bored Panda

Ilona Baliūnaitė

“Joked About Kidnapping Me”: 111 First Date Horror Stories That Might Make You Consider Living In A Convent

Two people meet, go on a few dates and fall in love. How we wish it were that simple. In reality, most of us encounter our fair share of frogs before we finally find the one.

While some first dates do lead to long-term relationships, or even friendships, many flop before the first course can arrive. Maybe he or she spends the whole evening talking about their ex, themselves, or nothing at all. Maybe they order for you without asking, or they're rude to the waiter. Whatever it is, you say your goodbyes, and keep it moving.

Then there are first dates so bad that you consider deleting all the apps forever. Like the one where his wife rocked up, another where he brought his ex along, and another where she found her 18-year-old self sat across from a man wearing a toupee. We wish we were making these up but they're true horror stories that have been shared in response to someone asking, "What happened on a first date that made you never talk to them again?"

Bored Panda has put together a compilation of the best worst first date stories that might turn even the softest romantic into a hardened cynic. Close Tinder, sit back and keep scrolling. Don't forget to upvote your favorites.

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Gone are the days when first dates involved donning your best outfit and heading off to a fancy restaurant. According to a recent survey, 70% of singles in the United States say they would be open to having their first date at a fast-food restaurant.

Chick-fil-A came out as the top first-date pick when it comes to casual dining, with 1 in 5 of the 1,500 singles polled giving it the nod. Raising Cane’s and In-N-Out Burger tied for second, while Culver’s and Pizza Hut took fourth and fifth place respectively.

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The Dating.com survey also found that 52% of surveyed singles prioritize vibes over cost when it comes to planning first dates.

"First date expectations are shifting, and singles no longer see price as the primary indicator of a good date," notes the site. "A slim majority of singles think a successful date is more about having a good time than being wined and dined."

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A separate study, conducted by Daisi Brand and colleagues from the University of Georgia, reveals that the location of first dates doesn't play too much of a role in whether the date is a success or a failure.

"They found that unappealing spaces could foster just as much closeness as inviting ones," reports the British Psychological Society (BPS).

In order to come to that conclusion, the researchers organised 201 undergraduate students into pairs who then took part in a 45-minute conversation task. They had to answer of personal questions that were designed to encourage self-disclosure, intimacy, and closeness.

"Half held this conversation in an 'appealing' room featuring warm lighting, art, plants, and a lavender scent, while the other half sat in a cramped office space with harsh lighting and clutter," explains BPS.

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He joked abt kidnapping me every 10 mins

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The participants were later separated and asked to rate their experience. They were also given time to swap contact details if they so wished. A month later, the researchers followed up with another survey to see which "couples" had maintained contact and how much they still wanted to see each other.

"Around 75% of participants failed to swap contact information — and, at the 30 day follow-up, only 19% had been in contact and only 13% had interacted in person," reports BPS. "Even fewer had developed a friendship or romantic relationship with their conversational partner (8%), though 43% expressed a desire to get closer."

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Interestingly, the results of the initial survey were similar regardless of the feel of the room. "Being in an appealing space didn't affect initial enjoyment, feelings of closeness, romantic interest, or desire to keep in touch compared to the unappealing space," BPS reported.

However, the follow-up survey found that almost twice as many participants from the appealing room said they wanted to get closer to their partner than those from the unappealing room. And more of those from the unpleasant room reported not wanting to get closer after the experience.

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"The findings suggest that while surroundings do matter, the quality of interactions and chemistry between people may be a more significant driver, and that open conversations can foster intimacy even in non-ideal settings," the site notes, adding that it's probably still wise to choose a pleasant location for a first date.

A Top10.com survey found that more than 65% of people felt voted a restaurant as their ideal first date location. Movies and live entertainment took second place, while watching a sports event, hoing to a bar, and chilling at home ranked much lower on the list.

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Genuinely hated when i broke eye contact, he’d clench his fist and make a grr noise or huff whenever i looked away. We were at dinner and this is the first time i met him.

It seems that many people prepare a back-up plan in the event their date is a flop. 60% of those polled by Top10 said they used the "call a friend" method to escape a bad date and duck out early.

"This percentage shrinks the older people get," reports the Love Strategies site. "And around 47% of older folks will not leave a date early no matter how bad it is—total troopers."

As we know, conversation is important on a first date and a Plenty of Fish study found that 74% of people rank good conversation as more important than looks. When it comes to what not to talk about, past relationships and exes top the list.

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Another turn-off that's unlikely to land you a second date is staring at your phone instead of into their eyes. 88% of singles surveyed by Mashable said they wouldn't be impressed if their date was using their phone.

Meanwhile, eHarmony found that nearly half of singles under the age of 35 do actually want a serious or committed relationship, and understand that it takes time and effort to find the one.

Around 30% believe that to find a suitable partner, you'd need to go on two dates a week.

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They may have it wrong, says one expert. According to Lisa Marie Bobby, a relationship psychologist and founder of Growing Self Counseling & Coaching, it takes a lot more time and effort to fine someone that'll make you delete your dating apps.

“People who are really serious about finding their person are going to be spending a lot more time than two days a week dating,” says Bobby, adding that one way to decrease wasted time is to filter out people who probably aren't a good fit, before you meet them in person.

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The expert suggests writing an honest and specific bio.

“If you’re not doing a good job of filtering out people through your bio, you’re going to talk to a lot of people before you find your person,” she says. But it doesn't end there...

“Find out who people are before you go on a date with them,” adds Bobby. And how do you do this? By setting up a phone call or video call before agreeing to meet up.

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Said his dad was on trial for attempting to end his step mom (with an axe) and everyone thinks he’s going to end up like his dad but he knows he’s not because when he got in a fight with his ex he could have reached for a knife but chose not to.

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They talked about their ex all the time, even I ended up missing the dude. It was emotional.

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He kept leaving the table to go the bathroom every 15 minutes, turns out he was "skiing".

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Told me I had eyes like Madeleine McCann

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He accidentally spiked his own drink with ghbHe whistled and clicked at a waitress for her attention, didn't speak to her and just pointed. I left and gave her a twentyTried to kiss me at the end (I pulled away as wasn’t feeling it) he laughed ominously and said “you’re kidding yourself if you think you have a choice”… bruh, ran tf away & never looked backhe said "no self respecting adult uses a backpack". I was sat there with a backpack, a Shaun the sheep backpack 🥲 this was in 2018 and I'm now marrying someone who encourages my fluffy bag collectingWe went to a restaurant and I knew the owner well. He claimed to own the restaurant…I called the owner in front of him to ask him if he sold it to the guy. He laughed and said no, he just does kitchen duty.His wife showed up.He said we were just going out for drinks. Then he casually ordered chicken with French fries—for himself. He kept asking me if I wanted some, and I kept saying no because I wasn’t hungry. After insisting multiple times, he finally convinced me to take ONE single French fry… so I did. And then he asked me to pay HALF of his meal… for that ONE French fry.He brought his mother.He asked me why I still got check up for cancer i used to have and told me that if we went further into the relationship i wouldn’t be allowed to get my routine check ups anymore.he was counting my calories for meTold me he was still in love with his ex and I looked like her. I just had to cut my hair.I climbed out the bathroom window because he walked me to the bathroom because he was scared I was going ran out on him.I even faked having my period because he wanted to take my bag.showed up to pick me up without asking for an address..He made me pay and then he kept the changesaid he „forgot“ his wallet and would send me the money after (which he never did) and still had the audacity to ask me out on a second date I replied „do I have to pay for this one too“I told him I was in the process of finishing my masters and buying a house.. he said “you need to stop both of those. You’ll be living with me and neither are optional”. As he lived on a falling apart boat…brought his ex bc he wanted to "compare the dates between me and her " he sat her at a different table and went back n forth between us 😭😭 i left like ten mins latershe stole my shoes cuz her ex wanted them for his collectionBrought his parents along without even telling me. He was 26.He literally shushed me. Put a finger to my mouth and said shh I’m talking now LMAOOHe spoke full volume in the movie theatre, it was embarrassingHe talked about putting hands on women when necessary. I gave him this look and He said “I’m joking “. I KNEW HE WASN’The licked my eye makeup off“oh so you just babysit kids all day” - I’m a primary school teacher.He said “I know, I stalked your moms Facebook”Told me that no one would hear me scream from his basement flat 🙃. I married a woman.he kept asking why I didn’t want him to pick me up, then he mentioned how he can memorize my license plate and put a tracker on my car… he’s a copKissed me all over my face but his breath stunk so my face smelt like tonsil stones and I had to drive home for an hour He mentioned he was living with his ex during the date and kept asking about my living situation... No you're not moving in. Next!He used the fork from the table to scratch his back… literally took the fork and put it inside his shirt to scratch his back. Then used it to eat when the food came.Said “I love you” within 30 minutes dinner date.Complained about my car..that he didn’t even get in. We met at the restaurant and he DOGGED me for driving a jeep grand Cherokee..ig cuz he was a mechanic but like she’s been good to me and I love it I ordered a mushroom Swiss burger (With extra mushrooms). When the food came, he SCOOPED all the mushrooms off and ate them and said “ I did that because I didn’t think you liked mushrooms” WHY would I order a mushroom burger than.. 🤐 I leftShe had an AI picture of what our babies would look like"Wow you look like a younger version of my mom in person, that's perfect." Left before the hostess even asked us "how many" He ordered the same meal as me and then looked at me and said my mom usually orders for me…He brought up pictures of his ex and told me “you kind of look like her” he walked me to my car after I made an excuse to leave and tried to hug me bye. I literally stopped him to shake his hand and told him it was nice to meet him and thank you for everything but he would never see me again😂 saw him years later out and he asked me “didn’t we go on a date before?” I told him I didn’t know him and went on about my night.he talked about me meeting his parents the next day and started discussing kids names for when we would start trying next year…i’d met this man ONCEHe took me to a steakhouse. Mind you I’m vegetarian and had told himHe wanted me to feed himTold me his mum still puts his socks on for him sometimes (he was 23)When i ordered a hot chocolate and the barista asked if i wanted whipped cream and he said “no we are saving that for later”.Genuinely said I love you then cried when I laughed at himwe went to an arcade and he wouldn't let me play any games...he played on his owni went on a first date with a guy and he took me to where i worked to eat so he could use my employee discount we went to get ice cream , he said he didn't want one, then pretended to be talking on the phone when it was time to pay , then he ate my ice creamHe was in FaceTime with his friend all the time while driving flexing he got girl next too himWe went to a steakhouse and he asked me to cut his steak in bite size pieces for him.He had a toupee. I was 18.Opened my fridge and made comments on everything in there“You can hobby around with your camera I will provide” I was a full time professional photographer and paying my bills with it.He took my phone from me and didn’t want to give it back because someone texted me and I decided to answered. This happened after 4hours together and I answered in 30 seconds and locked my phone. Never saw him again.asked for my salary 5 minutes into the datesang love story by Taylor Swift in a full restaurant. very loudly. he didn't know how to sing....He referred to himself in third personAsked me to clip his toenails because his mommy did it. He had to go see his mom every single day. We got there and he asked how she slept and she said “aw baby you know I can’t sleep without you”.Took me to the zoo but he had one free ticket so said ‘you pay for yours as I’ve got a free ticket’ when I went to pull out my chair he thought it was for him and went to sit down.He said deodorant was an advertising scam We ordered food at a restaurant and he ordered A LOT of expensive foods and several drinks. Afterwards he told me that “I don’t have enough money with me, so you’re gonna need to pay…”Took me to a concert and as we were waiting in the line to be let in a group of 3 girls walked by, he turned to me and goes “if I wasn’t with you right now, non of these girls would be safe in here.” Told me he had a female cadaver under his bed- he was completely serious.He had a matress protector as a duvet.Said he has another date with someone else next day and he will let me know.. he picked me and I picked someone else lolhe took me to meet his exfreestyle rapped to me.Burped in my face in a restaurantpicked me up and made me pay for gas lolTold me it was his and his ex’s favorite restaurant and she was our serverhe went through my phone for a good 10 minutesHe told me he doesn’t like toothpaste,perfumes,soaps etch and only washes himself with water .He asked me where HIS flowers wereTold me he liked the shape of my skull…Asked to look at their ex on my facebookHe asked if I could invest in his business ideaTold me he needed to run into the shops to pick something up. Turns out I waited in the car while he had his teeth whitenedHe picked a Mexican restaurant and ordered chicken nuggetsHe played the instrumental version of Kanye west and rapped the whole album to me not breaking eye contacthe let me know beforehand that he wont be paying for my food, after we had just ordered, so i got my food takeout and leftHe talked for 45 minutes straight... I fell asleep mid convo😭 woke up and he said "so tomorrow?"His ex showed up because they were sharing locations stillSaid he was going to take me out for dinner. We went to McDonalds and I was only allowed to pick something from the €1 board.he asked me to get coffee and we went and got gas station coffee… and he made me pay for my $1.25 coffee….First date lasted a weekend, at the end of it he told me he loved me and I needed to delete all my dating apps and asked to go through my phone before I left his apartment so he knew I was “faithful”Kept asking random people with dogs if their dog was named joshI ate oxtails and she had a problem with that.Had Sydney Sweeney as his lock screen Told me he was tall , i said how tall? He said he was at least 5"10/5"11 he was 5"3 😳 im 5"9He was wearing these shoesHe said out of all the women he is talking to at the moment I’m his favorite right now.He had long nailsHe said : « can u please stop talking it’s my turn now » During a dinner he said “my job is so intense my hands are ruined. I have no finger prints left….I could get away with pretty much any crime”He ate oxtails with his fingers and kept smacking his lipshe asked me if i was bulkingshowed me a capcut edit of himselfhe took me to all you can eat wings on a Monday night and proceeded to eat 36 wingsHe was so small that I thought he was a child walking towards meWore skinny jeans… like very tight skinny jeansHe ordered spicy food while I order the regular one turned to ask the server for a napkin and when I turned back I saw him eating already and TF he ate my order while I had to suffer after eating his. Took me three days to finally recover from stomachache and ghosted him.he farted at the table...on out first dateHe was standing like thisSaid jalen hurts is so hot with a smirk on her facehe did the splits after a strike while bowling"ill take you out for dinner" ended up in a kebab shopHe said “next time on you?”

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