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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Dating thread 245

1000 replies

SamW98 · 14/02/2024 20:23

Continued from 244….

The Rules:

1.The first rule about the dating thread is don't talk about it with people you're dating.

  1. Develop a thick skin.
  2. Do not invest emotionally too soon.
  3. It's all BS until it actually happens.
  4. Trust your gut instinct.
  5. People vanishing, lying & being generally weird is not your fault.
  6. Know your worth.
  7. If it's not fun, stop.
  8. Loo update is mandatory.
10. No dating the thread. 11. Treat others as you'd like to be treated 12. Any relationship you have that could get ruined by having a conversation about your feelings, standards and/or expectations wasn't really stable enough to begin with 13. The things you choose to ignore/ tolerate now are the reasons you will break up in the future 14. OLD can get very time consuming. Keep doing other activities you enjoy.

Optional: Please give your irons (potential dates you are talking to) nicknames like Mr Scottish. Initials are allowed (Mr S) when you are an item

OP posts:
Thread gallery
18
Sparkleswinston · 07/03/2024 15:53

Mckittens · 07/03/2024 09:51

@Sparkleswinston I totally agree, I do know the pre chat/ messaging is ill advised but I find it really hard to meet with no chat having happened as i feel like I need to know the basics in order to feel comfortable meeting at all. Very hard balance to get right though.

One of the ones I've just messaged had a really full detailed profile lots of which resonated with me but I was only drawn to one of the photos where they were wearing a hat 😆 and not the others where he had no hat so not sure if there would be any chemistry. But I'm thinking if he replies I might just suggest meeting up quickly.

i think we used to use a lot of non verbal communication. More than we know it.

if you fancied the pants off someone, got on and they seemed decent. Nothing else mattered. You didn’t profile them for 2 weeks and discard for being x or y.

SamW98 · 07/03/2024 15:59

cassiatwenty · 07/03/2024 15:39

My one friend found her DH via Hinge after trying every other app tho she lives in a very big city. Tinder is a cesspool but everyone knows it's a cesspool. Bumble supposedly wholesome and better but was the worst.

I stopped getting 90 % of rude and sexually suggestive messages when chatting with verified profiles.

If someone is excessively rude/sexting, most likely it's a fake profile.

When people have some 'skin in the game' they don't tend to be unhinged when chatting. Just a bit awkward and shy but that's normal I reckon.

I only ever swipe for verified profiles and I still get sleazy messages.
In fact the guy who started wanking during our phone conversation has gone several mutual friends with me as we discussed the fact we attend the same music events.

I just think I attract frustrated middle aged divorces 🤣

OP posts:
NervesOfCotton · 07/03/2024 16:08

There's one on Bumble today with a couple of 'Miles away' photos, from the side, & then there's a close up one where he's dressed head to toe in like a Blue plastic hazmat suit, hood pulled over his eyes, you can only see his mouth. Think he thinks he's flipping Batman & we will swoon.

RadiantRainbow · 07/03/2024 16:31

Can't believe we are approaching a 1000 posts on this thread soon!

For me Bumble has been really good in terms of variety and choice, though at one low point I registered on Tinder. Only looked at it for one day, it was some kind of UGLY PARADE. I honestly never saw so many scary men put together in my life, with most I couldn't swipe left quick enough before my eyes start bleeding!😂 So I have a profile on it now but it's hidden and I doubt I will come back.

I have actually found an iron who I really really like in the last week, and I haven't been that excited about someone (and relaxed and at peace as well!) since forever! HOWEVER. There are legitimate reasons why we can't meet soon, and even though we have talked on the phone (I think it gives you a better idea of the real person compared to chats...I actually can't say I particularly was drawn to his voice but thankfully I didn't dislike it either) I am so worried about this "false intimacy" thing. Or rather comparing him to other matches I can tell that the intimacy is real, it's strikingly real at times, but it's the sexual chemistry thing (or potential lack of in real life) which bothers me. I mean it could be a problem for him, too, he is younger than me but also looks a lot younger than his real age 😬

Out of his 5 pics I found him attractive in one, with "potential" in another, neutral/not fanciable in others. I mean mentally I am so attracted by now I feel like he could turn up looking like a Quasimodo and I am not going to care. However who knows, in real life?
Compared to my previous OLD date I swiped on the guy thinking I just liked his face but he had such a brotherly vibe I didn't think there was sexual potential, but decided to try it out because so many people said a man can grow on you including sexually. But it turned out to be like I sensed beforehand - we are still friendly and exchange occasional messages but obviously couldn't go further for me...

@SamW98 you said you had someone you really got on before the meeting and when he walked in it was a "oh no" moment, was there any indication looking back that it could have been the case? Were his pictures different from real him? What exactly produced the oh no effect?

Did anyone have it where the lack of spark took you by surprise compared to relative attractiveness in photos?
My iron mentioned that his previous GF demanded he lose weight and I think his pics could be before he gained weight or at least at the angles where you can't see (and no full body ones). I am bothered by overweight though myself am very much in the top 1% of healthy BMI for my height (but I gain weight everywhere evenly apart which makes it better apart from my face which is the last to give up any extra puffiness even in periods when I am very slim, which is pretty crap)

However he used to be an amateur athlete, even if several years back now, and I think if anything body/weight is the easiest thing to change, I have a feeling wanting to impress me he's already thinking of making changes to his lifestyle to include more sport etc...

cassiatwenty · 07/03/2024 17:01

NervesOfCotton · 07/03/2024 16:08

There's one on Bumble today with a couple of 'Miles away' photos, from the side, & then there's a close up one where he's dressed head to toe in like a Blue plastic hazmat suit, hood pulled over his eyes, you can only see his mouth. Think he thinks he's flipping Batman & we will swoon.

Blue plastic hazmar suit 🤩

Does he have a headline "if covid doesn't take you out I will". I love clean men 🙏

SamW98 · 07/03/2024 17:08

@RadiantRainbow

Tbh I didn’t hugely fancy him from his photos which weren’t the best anyway but we seemed to have a lot in common and when we talked on phone we were like old mates.
Then the date it all just changed . He was 20 minutes late which didn’t help. Then when he walked in (I went in bar anyway and ordered a wine and soda) he was wearing a suit and tie, complete with pocket handkerchief and blue mirror sunglasses - the sort of ones the looky looky men sell on the beach for 5 Euros. Plus he was about 4 inches shorter and looked older and pale. Just everything about him was wrong. First thing he said was ‘aren’t you driving?’ And stared at my drink. I replied ‘yes I’m only having this one’ Then rather than go to the bar he just sat down and waited. So I asked if he wanted a drink and he replied ‘I thought you’d never ask’

I couldn’t get out of there fast enough - and he sat on his hands when the bill arrived and waited for me to pay! Just a dreadful date.

OP posts:
Chocolatefreak · 07/03/2024 17:08

@NervesOfCotton he's probably married hence the disguise

cassiatwenty · 07/03/2024 17:16

@RadiantRainbow I found that there are conventionally attractive men whom I just don't feel attracted to, and men who might not be considered hot but that I like.

Some guys -- little extra in terms of weight I like, not so much men who are very skinny.

Chocolatefreak · 07/03/2024 17:17

I'm so entertained by all your descriptions @SamW98 I'm almost sorry I haven't had any such funny disasters. My funniest one so far I guess is my current iron Mr Bohemian, who although I've only met him once has remained in contact. He's funny because he's quite pretentious and theatrical but can laugh at himself. He also writes terrible erotic poetry. Not sent to me, but actually published!!! It's sooo bad.
Seeing him again on Monday, he has patiently waited while I have cancelled a couple of times due to work. I think he only wants FWB, which to be honest is all I think I can manage right now. Looking forward to an entertaining evening with him anyway, even if I decide not to take it further.

Mr Wildlife never got back in touch, I'm a bit peeved. Oh well. Have another chat going with a guy who lives in my village. Seem very decent but looks geeky. Nice chat though. Mr Geek.

cassiatwenty · 07/03/2024 17:19

Me too @SamW98 your stories are very entertaining, what's that saying bad moments/stories are very great anecdotes

SamW98 · 07/03/2024 17:27

Thanks guys. Tbh I’ve always been someone who finds dark humour in every crap situation which has served me well with OLD 🤣

OP posts:
Chocolatefreak · 07/03/2024 17:29

@cassiatwenty me too. Don't mind a bit of chub, don't like skinny. I am small and quite thin but muscular. Don't want to feel like I can arm-wrestle them and win. I have just started a new chat with a guy who has fairly prominently featured his thin biceps in his photos... I wonder if he's had previous feedback on his lack of muscle and is pre-empting disappointment?

SamW98 · 07/03/2024 17:33

@cassiatwenty

I prefer a bit of chunk rather than skinny. I’m 5’7 and a 12/14 so think I’d look all wrong with a very slim man.

Plus I do like a manly man - tall broad shoulders etc. Give me a builder type and my knees start to tremble

OP posts:
RadiantRainbow · 07/03/2024 17:49

SamW98 · 07/03/2024 17:08

@RadiantRainbow

Tbh I didn’t hugely fancy him from his photos which weren’t the best anyway but we seemed to have a lot in common and when we talked on phone we were like old mates.
Then the date it all just changed . He was 20 minutes late which didn’t help. Then when he walked in (I went in bar anyway and ordered a wine and soda) he was wearing a suit and tie, complete with pocket handkerchief and blue mirror sunglasses - the sort of ones the looky looky men sell on the beach for 5 Euros. Plus he was about 4 inches shorter and looked older and pale. Just everything about him was wrong. First thing he said was ‘aren’t you driving?’ And stared at my drink. I replied ‘yes I’m only having this one’ Then rather than go to the bar he just sat down and waited. So I asked if he wanted a drink and he replied ‘I thought you’d never ask’

I couldn’t get out of there fast enough - and he sat on his hands when the bill arrived and waited for me to pay! Just a dreadful date.

Edited

Hahahhaaa that's just dreadful and hilarious! I am not surprised! Suit and handkerchief and mirrored sunglasses, and critisizing you for a drink and then waiting to be served like a diva, wtf? I probably wouldn't have bought him anything! 😄

I am slightly relieved because at least I can't imagine anything like that could happen with the iron I am chatting to.
Also yes, when I was younger extra weight bothered me more but after my first date with a skinny straw legs Mr Biker I'd rather take some substance over too thin.

qqq82 · 07/03/2024 18:23

Just found this and think it's something we all need to remember

Dating thread 245
Mckittens · 07/03/2024 18:45

I definitely need reminding of this!

cassiatwenty · 07/03/2024 19:15

@qqq82 Thank you

NervesOfCotton · 07/03/2024 19:50

cassiatwenty 'If Covid doesn't take you out then I will'. Love thisGrin

mumofoneanddone82 · 07/03/2024 20:10

@Chocolatefreak who is Mr Wildlife? Intrigued for these stories

Starseeking · 07/03/2024 20:10

qqq82 · 07/03/2024 18:23

Just found this and think it's something we all need to remember

This is so true.

mumofoneanddone82 · 07/03/2024 20:14

Currently on three different apps and feeling terribly slutty 😂😂😂 ! I've got two decent conversations going with two guys I fancy from their pictures!

Has everyone heard of the term limerance? I only discovered it this week when talking to a friend. But it kind of means when get can't stop thinking about someone! I had this over the past few weeks when I was talking to Mr Ex Marine/tree surgeon who promised me the world with a bow on top and ghosted me! I just randomly couldn't stop thinking about him every waking moment! The trick is to never get attached and keep a few good conversations going at the same time! I felt so sad when I didn't hear from again! Which is INSANE as I never bloody met him!

Chocolatefreak · 07/03/2024 20:30

@mumofoneanddone82 Mr Wildlife was just a chat I had going. He went on holiday and I haven't heard from him since. He's just disappeared. Shame as we had a good chat going.

Mckittens · 07/03/2024 21:34

I do think I maybe need to have a few chats on the go at once to stop any over investment in one person. I'd been limiting it to one or two but I've stepped it up in the last 24 hours.

Pepsimaxedout · 07/03/2024 21:52

@SamW98 I do enjoy your anecdotes. Even if they are also a depressing reminder of the state of men online.

@cassiatwenty I too prefer a chunkier man. I'm a size 16 myself. I don't want a man skinnier than me!

@mumofoneanddone82 @Mckittens It helps to have a few chats on the go although personally I find it bloody exhausting juggling more than one or two!

I have muted match for the time being. Final straw this morning was being asked by a bloke to see my tits. That charmer aside, I am beginning to think I'm not in the right headspace for it all right now. I'm crazy busy with work this week and have resented wasting my evenings on the same inane chat. So am taking a breather.

AltheaVestr1t · 07/03/2024 22:27

mumofoneanddone82 · 07/03/2024 20:14

Currently on three different apps and feeling terribly slutty 😂😂😂 ! I've got two decent conversations going with two guys I fancy from their pictures!

Has everyone heard of the term limerance? I only discovered it this week when talking to a friend. But it kind of means when get can't stop thinking about someone! I had this over the past few weeks when I was talking to Mr Ex Marine/tree surgeon who promised me the world with a bow on top and ghosted me! I just randomly couldn't stop thinking about him every waking moment! The trick is to never get attached and keep a few good conversations going at the same time! I felt so sad when I didn't hear from again! Which is INSANE as I never bloody met him!

I am also a limerant. I have always been limerant, my life is a long list of intense obsessions with people (not in a stalkerish way, I must add. All in my head 😂). Not a surprise, I had a difficult childhood that I survived largely by developing elaborate daydreams about things that made me feel better.

This makes it really important for me to take care here because I fall for people very hard, very fast, which can hurt a lot if I am rejected. It isn't the person themselves I am head over heels with, but the story I have invented about them. I know this, but it doesn't make it feel any better!

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