She was charmed by a ‘gentleman’ on her first date just two days after downloading Hinge — until the bill arrived and she swore off dating forever
First dates can be nerve-wracking. After coming out of a 5-year-long relationship, a Reddit user (u/alittlebit-dumb) decided to download Hinge and matched with a man who lived in her town. She was charmed by the man who appeared to be a 'gentleman,' and they decided to go on a date at a high-end restaurant. However, when it was time for the check, she decided to never again go on a date. Sharing the story in September 2025, the Reddit user's post garnered more than 27k likes.
The woman who shared the viral post was in a relationship for 5 years. After her breakup recently, she decided to give dating another shot by signing herself up on an app, as she had no plans for Halloween. "Was shocked I got 100+ likes the first day and got overwhelmed. I was also shocked that a few men already asked me out within two days," she wrote. She soon matched with a man who lived in the same town as her. He immediately asked her out on a date within two days of talking. While she felt skeptical in the beginning, she thought of giving it a shot. He offered to pick her up from work to take her to a "pricey" restaurant. "I said I would drive there, and this should have been the first red flag. He kept insisting on picking me up because he's a true gentleman," she wrote.
When she reached the place, he had already placed an order for two drinks. They ended up talking for a while, and he spoke about looking for love, which she did not pay much attention to. "Honestly, I wanted it to be true, but I have always been a pretty skeptical person," she wrote. A while later, he ordered another drink, two appetizers, and an entree, while she only ordered her entree. She declined the second drink that he offered. After some time, he "laughed" and told her that all the drinking was making him use the restroom. "I had a weird feeling at that moment like 'oh don’t tell me…' well I waited about 5 minutes," she wrote. And just like she feared, he never returned.
When the waitress arrived with the check, the woman felt embarrassed, as tears rolled down her face. She told what had happened to the waitress, who understood the situation and spoke to the manager. The manager asked for her date's name and photo and asked her to only pay for her entree, informing her that they would split the check. "Just want to say that I'm never in my life going on another first date off an app because what the actual f**k was that," she lamented. A 2018 study authored by Ryan and Ashley noted that people who dine and dash usually assume that there will likely be no consequences. The study notes that such individuals only consider the benefits of getting a free meal and are more inclined towards it. Going by the Reddit story, the date was likely looking to dine at an expensive restaurant and did not arrange the date with the intention of dating the woman.
Soon after the post gained traction, Reddit users expressed their thoughts on it. u/Loknar42 wrote, "Please report this guy to Hinge. If the restaurant gives a statement they might ban him from the site." u/WxaithBrynger commented, "I think you just dodged a bullet, his insistence on you drinking and then him running off makes my paranoid brain say he was planning on doing something to you." u/Chemboy613 wrote, "I'm so sorry that happened, I really am. I don't know where people get the idea this is acceptable."
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