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AIBU to think this was the start of something twisted?

85 replies

ShockedP · 15/01/2026 07:05

I don’t know if I should have done something more but I have just had my worst online dating experience ever.

I was talking to this guy from a foreign city I was recently in. We matched the day before I flew back to England a few days ago. We had been messaging off and on. I do go to that city a lot so the plan was to meet next time I am there.

He was 34, worked in SEO for a digital marketing agency, very good looking, well dressed in his pictures, seemingly personable and had good conversational skills. A rare find on there tbh

Last night was probably the longest chat we had had, it was going back and forth talking about anything and everything and initially it was fun. But gradually I started to realise he was slightly off.

First it was little things like using too many of these 😂😂 emojis when what he was saying wasn’t that funny. I’ve noticed the men who do that end up a being a bit too crazy and not in a good way. He seemed fairly reserved then slowly was becoming a bit too hyper.

And then when I asked why his 4 year relationship ended the only thing he could point to was because she kept sunbathing topless on the beach in front of his friends.

I said did you have any other problems with her? And he said she also swam naked in lakes or something.

I don’t go topless myself, but it seemed weird how fixated he was on this one thing when he didn’t seem a particularly conservative man.

I could only guess she must have dumped him, because he had nothing of substance to say about their breakup or against her . He said she was “not serious” in terms of her personality.

He asked if I like younger men lol he’s only 5 years younger. I just said not too young and not too old and that I prefer men around my age. Hint hint - you ain’t that young dude!

Then I asked him how old was his last ex. She was 24.

Hmm so he was 30 and she was 20 when they got together. That did put me off tbh while I wouldn’t bat an eyelid at 34 and 44, to me 20 and 30 is questionable.

It makes me question why a grown man went for a young woman so close to teenage years when he’s 30. Especially because he was essentially complaining she was “not serious” .

It annoys me when older men go out of their to date younger women, not long out of school then complain about their lack of maturity. I did point that out to him.

But I also thought it could’ve just been a coincidence and it is not that he targeted a 20 year old specifically. Because he was talking to me and I was older than him.

Then out of the blue he said his first girlfriend was a “little girl”. Now I thought he was referring to the “not serious” topless bathing loving 24 year old and I was like yeah early 20s is so young. But I was still uneasy that he had described her that way.

He says “no, I mean my very first girlfriend”.

I said how old were you then? He said 20.

I was going to change the subject away from exes but something stirred in me and told me I needed to ask how old was this first girlfriend. Now I assumed he was going to say 16 and the red flags were already forming. Then he comes out and say 12.

12 he dated (abused) a 12 year old old 🤯

note, I am using google translate for a lot of this as I am a beginner only in his language. But obviously he just typed out 12 so there could be no mistake.

I eventually asked him neutrally - so you are saying as a 20 year old man you chose a 12 year old child to “date” (abuse)?

I was trying not to react so I could draw it out of him.

But he must’ve realised my disgust and kind of backtracked and said he only “dated” her for 5 weeks and they didn’t do anything sexual.

Even if that’s true I definitely think they must have at least kissed and it’s still utterly horrifying.

I asked him one final question “what did you see in a 12 year old child?”

His answer “at that time she was the only one who would listen to me.”

What a creep. I felt like crying for this child.
I don’t know if he done anything illegal as he supposedly didn’t sleep with said 12 year old but he “dated” ie. Preyed upon a child. I am sure it would have went that way if he had hung about a little longer.

I couldn’t pretend not to be disgusted any longer so I immediately blocked and reported him. My reason given was “ he said he dated a 12 year old” I doubt anything can be done but I just wanted to report him to someone at least.

AIBU to think this could have been the start of something very twisted? He felt comfortable to tell a complete stranger he dated a 12 year old.
What was the motivation for this I wonder 💭 And what else would he have shared as time went on?

If I had talked more maybe I could’ve got more out of him , enough to share with authorities in his country , but I just couldn’t stomach it any longer.

Sometimes I watch true crime about an abusive couples with strange illegal “kinks” and I wonder how did they find out about each other being so perverted? Who told who first? How did they figure out the other person was a fellow creep and it was safe for them to disclose these desires too?

It has kind of made me sick that he felt he could disclose that to me, especially on the same evening I had shared that I work with kids as part of my freelance work.

It’s just terrifying the type of men that are out there hiding in plain sight. His hard drive wants checking.

OP posts:
GAJLY · 15/01/2026 09:15

Ew that’s actually really disgusting of him. Im surprised he told you about it, it’s like he thinks it’s nothing! I’m glad you blocked him.

surreygirly · 15/01/2026 09:20

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surreygirly · 15/01/2026 09:34

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CremeCarmel · 15/01/2026 09:37

ShockedP · 15/01/2026 08:12

We can focus on and on, in what exact moment I should’ve blocked. I was online chatting and thought I clicked with someone. He mentioned a few times about the topless bathing and yes it was odd but most of the conversation was great.

The benefit of hindsight is always 20/20. We don’t always act perfectly in the moment.

I am just amazed some are focusing on that rather than what he actually said.

I blocked after he said about the child, it’s not like I chatted about his favourite book after that.

What you did was human. I would have been curious after the topless comment to see where the conversation would go. I would not expect it to take a turn into him dating a child. Like you I would have shut it down right there.

I can’t believe posters on the thread are discussing what you did rather than what he said.

wfhwfh · 15/01/2026 09:42

Some of the response posts are quite unpleasant towards OP and i dont understand it (unless they are from men).

Obviously, there are lots of losers and time-wasters on online dating. If you try it as a women, you accept that.

What you dont need to accept is a man casually speaking about “dating” a child - whether it is true or a made-up story. OP was upset & uncomfortable and wanted to offload. I would have felt exactly the same in your position, OP. You did the right thing flagging up the reason for blocking to the site owners and did all you could in the circumstances so try and put it from your mind.

I do think online dating is a dark and murky place. But the problem is not the perfectly nice women trying to use it to meet a partner.

Bourneo · 15/01/2026 10:26

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No, she is absolutely not deranged. Are you ok? Are you always this unpleasant?

The examples you gave are not appropriate either, but b they are above the age of consent. The OLD weirdo was telling the op he dated a 12 year old CHILD!

I'm not sure why I'm wasting my time, as I think you're a male troll. 😒 but on the off chance you're a woman, re read the op and your comment. Then think of a 12 year old you know being groomed (probably online) by a 20 year old man. It'll turn your stomach.

Lazydomestic · 15/01/2026 10:40

Catfish and / or fantasist

Who knows what drives people to this behaviour but they do unfortunately exist.

Block, delete, report, move on. Paedophiles don’t draw attention to their activities - its some freak baiting for a reaction

Bourneo · 15/01/2026 10:44

ShockedP · 15/01/2026 08:31

Exactly. People expect women to be like the police and identify every problem in a nanosecond. “Why didn’t you do x y or z” I am not a robot. Sometimes it takes a while to process things.

He was mostly about cooking, museums, travel, and asking me lots of questions about my interests which a lot of men online don’t do.

That evening things had started to go a bit weird. I had told myself there must be more about his ex but he just didn’t want to go into it so was using a weird excuse. But I was beginning to wonder for sure.

But when it went left totally I blocked him.

@ShockedPyou've done nothing wrong, the people on this thread are being unrealistic. Unless you've had considerable experience OLD it can be hard to realise how rare a man who can hold a conversation is. And then how easy it is to over look the first few flaws or potential red flags.

It's also so easy for not nice men to hide who they really are until you're emotionally invested with long conversations.

The only sane bit of advice I'd take from it is to chat for 48 hours. Then meet. No deep chats, etc. No sharing stories with a stranger, no revealing emotional information early on or heart to hearts. It creates a false connection. I say this as much for my benefit as yours, as I'm so guity of deep connections too early, which makes me overlook way too much. If I ever go back on OLD I think that's what I'll do. Quick chat and meet. Weed them out!

I'd be feeling the same as you, totally creeped out and wondering if I should contact police. But I doubt they'd do anything.

Enjoy your fresh air and move on!

speakball · 16/01/2026 07:46

I was groomed at 13. I’m pretty sure he’s spinning it exactly this way 40 years later. It’s terrible to sit here as a survivor of this real harm and see again how humans will do and say anything other than confront the violence that females have to navigate from the get go even in 2025

TwistedWonder · 16/01/2026 08:21

OneShyQuail · 15/01/2026 08:18

What a waste of your night talking so much to a random stranger.
Yes what he said was just gross but I dont get the whole "deep chats" chatting for ages fo a stranger. Literally could be anyone. People are out here revealing their life to random, wasting time creating fake bonds etc, getting upset when a stranger doesnt reply, even "falling in love" its madness.
OLD - match with someone, brief chat, arrange a quick coffee date after around 48 hours of chat. Meet, decide and continue or move on.
Weedles out the time wasters and weirdos and stops anyone getting invested.

This is all just madness!

Edited

100% this - especially as the ‘chat’ needed Google translate.
What a bloody waste of time - watch tv if you’re that bored rather than pour your heart and soul out to a stranger.

Have none of these people ever seen Catfish?

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