Man spent five hours discussing his career, money and family, then called it the 'best first date' — her one question ended hopes of seeing her again
First dates are usually a chance for two people to get to know each other. But Threads user Brooke Howard, who goes by @brookemead__, said her first date with a man felt like a one-sided conversation. In a post shared on Monday, July 27, 2026, Howard recalled her five-hour date, explaining how the man only talked about himself and revealing the one question she asked when he later requested a second date.
According to Howard, the man, who she said was in his late 40s, spent the entire five-hour date talking about his life, including his career, investments, children, and father, without asking her a single question. She said he didn't even ask what she did for work. Despite that, he later described it as "the best date of his life." He later asked her for a second date. Already frustrated by his obliviousness, Howard said she replied with a simple challenge: "If you can tell me what I do for work." She said the response was nothing but "crickets."
Howard said she was surprised that someone could spend five hours talking without realizing they had learned almost nothing about the person sitting across from them. It already made it clear that there would be no second date. Looking back, she questioned how someone could be so "oblivious and self-absorbed" that they never thought to ask even a single question in return.
Many people in the comments also questioned the man's behavior, and some even shared similar experiences. @readrealinfo remarked remarked, "A friend timed a date and said it has been 15 minutes and you asked me no questions about myself. This date is over," before standing up and leaving. @cafewithlait joked, "Send him the invoice since you were his therapist apparently."
@davidborges846 wrote, "It's not a given that he is self-absorbed. He may have just been nervous or excited because he was extremely attracted to you and his brain overloaded and went haywire." Many users also asked Howard in the comments what she did for work. Howard replied that she is a customer success manager in the healthcare tech space, pointing out that the stranger had asked the very question her date never did. Howard's story also relates to what researchers have found about conversations.
A study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found that asking simple follow-up questions makes people feel listened to and leaves them with a better impression of the conversation. Researchers said showing genuine interest by asking someone to talk more about themselves can make them more likely to enjoy the interaction and want to speak again. In Howard's case, the problem wasn't what her date talked about; it was that, according to her, he never stopped to ask about her.
For more of her experiences, follow @brookemead__ on Threads.