Singles dream of dating feeling like a hilariously wholesome sitcom, but it can also be a cringeworthy reality show with episodes titled "Mommy's Boy at the Restaurant" and "The Awkward Movie Night."
Recently, a person who goes by the nickname Nocta on X asked other platform users to describe the worst dates they've been on, and their post immediately went viral.
As of now, it has been viewed over 22.3 million times, with thousands of people contributing their experiences to the discussion, so we decided to scour the thread and show you the most memorable ones.
Continue scrolling to check out our hand-picked entries and the talk we had with dating coach Blaine Anderson — you will find it spread out between the images.
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These stories might represent a broader picture. Among those who are on the dating market – the 15% of American adults who are single and looking for a committed relationship or casual flings – 67% say it's going either not too well or not at all well.
While single-and-looking men and women report equal levels of dissatisfaction with their love lives and the ease of finding romantic interests, women are more likely to say they have had some particularly negative experiences.
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Singles are often open to seeing people with many different traits and from a variety of backgrounds, which also entails a level of uncertainty.
"Especially with someone you're not very familiar with, my best piece of advice for planning a first date is to avoid getting too creative!" Blaine Anderson, dating coach and founder of Dating By Blaine, told Bored Panda.
"Asking a woman to drinks tends to be a safe and time-tested bet. Find a bar you love, particularly one that has non-alcoholic options because not everyone drinks these days, and then feel free to use it as the venue for all of your first dates. Because you'll always be at the same spot, you give yourself something like a home court advantage with this strategy!"
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Of course, there are plenty of reasons why a date might take a turn for the worse, but Blaine, who has helped over 3,000 people find love, thinks guys tend to make two mistakes over and over again.
"The first one is exclusively focusing on forming an intellectual connection, and not a physical or emotional one," she explained. "This is a mistake that intelligent and introverted guys make in particular!"
"The second one is over-sharing, and talking too much about themselves. I think a lot of guys feel like they need to impress the woman they're out with, and they don't realize that they talk too much about themselves as part of that process," the dating expert added.
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It can be quite difficult to end a date early in a polite and smooth manner, even if it isn't going well. "You always want to balance being direct with being empathetic," Blaine Anderson said.
"Depending on how early you want to do that, there may not be a truly polite way — cutting a date off after less than 30 minutes is probably going to feel rude no matter how smooth you are."
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However, if you're in a situation where you just have to hit the escape key, Blaine suggests saying something along the lines of, "Hey, I'm so grateful you took the time to come here to meet me. I can tell I'm not feeling a romantic connection, and I want to be respectful of your time, so I want to part ways for now, but I genuinely wish you all the best."
"Just don't be surprised if the person you're out with asks for more of an explanation!" she added.
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It can be exhausting to keep putting yourself out there when Cupid has turned his back to you. Which is probably why almost half (49%) of Bumble users are prioritizing their own work/life balance over actively looking for love.
However, you might run into your special someone even if you're not trying to. Just keep your eyes open, and remember, there's no such thing as a perfect date.
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