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.
This post may include affiliate links.
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.
Ok, early in the list but I have to admit this first post has set the bar pretty high. I'm sure it CAN get worse, but I'm not sure how.
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!"
I had similar happen. We had spoken in line for months. He came for a visit and we went into the city centre. He got a tattoo of my name,I big letters down his forearm. After going home he called me to tell me he was going to move in with me. Told,not asked. Freaked me out. Blocked him.
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.
That guy belongs on a list somewhere if he isn't already.
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I had the same thought. I would have called the police.
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Very police report-able, given the drink tampering and unlawful detaining. >:-(
Why would you not meet publically for a first date? Or was this not a first date?
Bet the police had permission to enter his subdivision and go to his house.
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."
Nope. Not on a first date. Even years in, I still ask my husband first if I can have a bite.
All together now boys and girls ... RED flags awaving, RED flags ahoy!
Did you have his phone number to call him back? No wait, you couldn't, he stole your phone.
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.
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.
Anyone who is rude to staff is an instant turn off. Treat people decently.
Yay for us another south african. Ocean Basket is a chain of fish and chips restaurants. Not romantic, not fancy.
wow. For non-South Africans, Kauai is a health food takeout restaurant. Apologies for the cultural appropriation to the Independent Kingdom of Hawai'i.
How a person treats animals and staff are two major indicators of their overall quality.
Sounds the bashful type. Just give him a couple more dates to come out of his shell.
Classic clueless guy disease. I used to suffer but then I got cured by a quick swift boot in the butt and told to get a clue. Thanks goodness.
Well thank God you didn't get his tooth in your mouth if this is still giving you shivers.
Life lesson - if anyone ever "needs the bathroom" before the bill is paid after dinner, they're 99% dashing.
seems like he set this up if the date wasn't going well classic tactic
How can you “don’t like to dance” if your soundtrack is “singalong Disney?”
why even sit down for food and drink with a woman that catfished you
Been there. Couldn't drop her off fast enough, but had to stop a couple of times so she could puke.
I find it amazing the number of people I've heard break up or commit attempted murder because they can't stand the sound of other people's chewing. I guess there are times when being somewhat hard of hearing is helpful.
Oh the horror! She... talked! And paid! What a terrible travesty! Looks like she dodged a bullet.
So her date got physically assaulted, also, he was drunk, so he probably couldn't take care of himself. And she left him there. Even a hard punch can cause a concussion, now imagine a drunk person being punched and he falls over, hits his head? Signs of concussion like dizziness and feeling sick, easily hidden by being drunk? No one else to check up on him, call an ambulance if need be? Wonder what she would have said if the situation was reversed. What a champion of compassion and humanity, this woman is.
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Once went on a date with a guy I met in a business setting, he ordered oysters for both of us and then watched me intently as if waiting for the oysters to take effect. All while gradually increasing the sexual innuendo in the conversation. I claimed a headache and had him drive me home, it was very uncomfortable and that was the last time I ever let a man pick me up for a date.
Went on a date with a guy who checked into the hotel I was working at as a receptionist, I had to drive because he was from out of town, he got blackout staggering drunk, talked about his visit to a country that he couldn't even pronounce correctly, and told me I was probably dealing with a lot of trauma because I was not impressed with his behavior. I drove him back to the hotel and ditched him with the parking attendance. The next day when I was at work again his ex-wife called to apologize to me for his behavior. Apparently he is so incompetent she has to still handle his travel arrangements even though they're divorced.
In my forties, there was the guy who arrived late, clearly having refreshed himself liberally in advance, who couldn't string two sentences together, kept putting his hands up my dress and asked 'Do you still menstruate?' So embarrassing.
This is why I no longer date...my partner thinks it's other reasosn!!! No seriously though, I could nit imagine or think of anything worse than having to date again.
It is a very very odd thing. Like shopping blindfolded, on a street full of booby traps and potholes.
Load More Replies... I was on few bad dates but the one that I remember as worst was... Strange and very unpleasant. It was a tinder date. In my eyes she was a good looking girl but not stunning. I am mentioning this only because during the date, I could tell from her behaviour toward me, our surroundings and many thing she said, she was seeing herself at minimum 11/10. She treated me like I was some creep. I wanted to scream and run away from her but I didn't because I wanted to be gentleman and to close date properly (and never talk to her again). So we talked, eat and finish date. At the end I proposed to walk her to a bus station, but she replied she don't want me to follow her. Like wtf girl...
Guy rode his bike 40 miles to my house because I stopped answering my phone the night before.
I met a guy on the internet in the early 2000s. I was really just trying to learn how to put myself out there as I was painfully shy. We were going to watch anime. not really my thing, but again I was trying to learn to be social. My best friend lived on the other side of the duplex I lived in and was well aware of my date incase things went awry. Anyways, he stands up and moves in front of me and says "I can make you suck it you know? To which I promptly replied, you can also leave here without it. Needless to say, he opted to leave with his stuff in tact and I never talked to him again.
In my 20s, I went on a first date with a guy that worked in my building. I'm pretty easy going and enjoy when things go wrong, but I just couldn't with this guy. He got to my apt, a fair distance from his place, and then left because he forgot the tickets. Leaves. Comes back an hour later with tickets, but forgot his wallet. So dinners on me. That's fine. We get to the venue and he locks his keys in the car with it still running. We have to wait for a locksmith. Still ok with it, it's an accident. But he takes that hour to try to talk about our "relationship" and getting really mushy, which I don't like. He's 6'6, I'm 5'1. So he picks me up. Put me down I'm done. The locksmith shows up and he has to convince him it's his truck without any identification. Finally the guy opens it. $150. Guess who pays? He drives me home and skids. Then freaks out about how I'll always remember that he skidded his truck. At the end, I just high fived him and ran inside.
Went on a date with a woman who worked for the army as a civilian on their IT systems. She told me proudly how she would beat the snot out of guys on the base that annoyed her because she knew they wouldn't hit a woman back. Told me all about the fighting training she had and how she'd use the sparring training to vent her frustrations on other people. I went to the restroom and did a Ferris Bueller (running as fast as I could on the spot to get all flushed and sweaty), came out and told her I didn't feel well and had to go...
I was introduced to a friend of a friend, we got along really well in emails, picked her up for dinner and she proceeds to spend the whole dinner talking on her phone. We didn't talk or email after that. lmao
Had a guy, unsolicited, feed me popcorn in the movie theater. Told me "you'll get this kind of treatment all the time." Uh. No I won't. It was all I could do to sit through the rest of the movie. Blocked his number and moved on.
I was meeting a guy for a date, we met at my house and were going to the pub, realised I forgot my wallet so he came up with me to go get it. We enter my room and he goes 'oh..... I didn't know you're a student....' (Gasp! the nerve) I said I wasn't and he just told me I was too young then he just left! I mean this was my first place post Uni but still... lol.
I went on a first date with a woman I met at work. Married her on our one year anniversary. Been married 23 years in August. There is hope. Oops, supposed to talk about bad dates. Sorry.
Once went on a date with a guy I met in a business setting, he ordered oysters for both of us and then watched me intently as if waiting for the oysters to take effect. All while gradually increasing the sexual innuendo in the conversation. I claimed a headache and had him drive me home, it was very uncomfortable and that was the last time I ever let a man pick me up for a date.
Went on a date with a guy who checked into the hotel I was working at as a receptionist, I had to drive because he was from out of town, he got blackout staggering drunk, talked about his visit to a country that he couldn't even pronounce correctly, and told me I was probably dealing with a lot of trauma because I was not impressed with his behavior. I drove him back to the hotel and ditched him with the parking attendance. The next day when I was at work again his ex-wife called to apologize to me for his behavior. Apparently he is so incompetent she has to still handle his travel arrangements even though they're divorced.
In my forties, there was the guy who arrived late, clearly having refreshed himself liberally in advance, who couldn't string two sentences together, kept putting his hands up my dress and asked 'Do you still menstruate?' So embarrassing.
This is why I no longer date...my partner thinks it's other reasosn!!! No seriously though, I could nit imagine or think of anything worse than having to date again.
It is a very very odd thing. Like shopping blindfolded, on a street full of booby traps and potholes.
Load More Replies... I was on few bad dates but the one that I remember as worst was... Strange and very unpleasant. It was a tinder date. In my eyes she was a good looking girl but not stunning. I am mentioning this only because during the date, I could tell from her behaviour toward me, our surroundings and many thing she said, she was seeing herself at minimum 11/10. She treated me like I was some creep. I wanted to scream and run away from her but I didn't because I wanted to be gentleman and to close date properly (and never talk to her again). So we talked, eat and finish date. At the end I proposed to walk her to a bus station, but she replied she don't want me to follow her. Like wtf girl...
Guy rode his bike 40 miles to my house because I stopped answering my phone the night before.
I met a guy on the internet in the early 2000s. I was really just trying to learn how to put myself out there as I was painfully shy. We were going to watch anime. not really my thing, but again I was trying to learn to be social. My best friend lived on the other side of the duplex I lived in and was well aware of my date incase things went awry. Anyways, he stands up and moves in front of me and says "I can make you suck it you know? To which I promptly replied, you can also leave here without it. Needless to say, he opted to leave with his stuff in tact and I never talked to him again.
In my 20s, I went on a first date with a guy that worked in my building. I'm pretty easy going and enjoy when things go wrong, but I just couldn't with this guy. He got to my apt, a fair distance from his place, and then left because he forgot the tickets. Leaves. Comes back an hour later with tickets, but forgot his wallet. So dinners on me. That's fine. We get to the venue and he locks his keys in the car with it still running. We have to wait for a locksmith. Still ok with it, it's an accident. But he takes that hour to try to talk about our "relationship" and getting really mushy, which I don't like. He's 6'6, I'm 5'1. So he picks me up. Put me down I'm done. The locksmith shows up and he has to convince him it's his truck without any identification. Finally the guy opens it. $150. Guess who pays? He drives me home and skids. Then freaks out about how I'll always remember that he skidded his truck. At the end, I just high fived him and ran inside.
Went on a date with a woman who worked for the army as a civilian on their IT systems. She told me proudly how she would beat the snot out of guys on the base that annoyed her because she knew they wouldn't hit a woman back. Told me all about the fighting training she had and how she'd use the sparring training to vent her frustrations on other people. I went to the restroom and did a Ferris Bueller (running as fast as I could on the spot to get all flushed and sweaty), came out and told her I didn't feel well and had to go...
I was introduced to a friend of a friend, we got along really well in emails, picked her up for dinner and she proceeds to spend the whole dinner talking on her phone. We didn't talk or email after that. lmao
Had a guy, unsolicited, feed me popcorn in the movie theater. Told me "you'll get this kind of treatment all the time." Uh. No I won't. It was all I could do to sit through the rest of the movie. Blocked his number and moved on.
I was meeting a guy for a date, we met at my house and were going to the pub, realised I forgot my wallet so he came up with me to go get it. We enter my room and he goes 'oh..... I didn't know you're a student....' (Gasp! the nerve) I said I wasn't and he just told me I was too young then he just left! I mean this was my first place post Uni but still... lol.
I went on a first date with a woman I met at work. Married her on our one year anniversary. Been married 23 years in August. There is hope. Oops, supposed to talk about bad dates. Sorry.
