Woman reluctantly agreed to her date's restaurant choice, only for him to order and pay without her — her next move ended the date in just 5 minutes
First dates can tell you a lot about a person, and sometimes, it takes just a few minutes to realize there's no second date happening. A woman who goes by u/immaterialgrl on Reddit shared that she walked out of a date after just five minutes because her match's behavior left her questioning his basic manners. In a post shared on October 17, 2026, she explained how a simple disagreement over where to eat quickly turned into an awkward situation that made her rethink spending the evening with him.
The woman said she and her date met at a popular food area after work without choosing a restaurant beforehand. He suggested a bento takeout place, but she preferred another restaurant where meals cost around $30. He pushed to try something new, so she reluctantly agreed, despite having tried his pick before and not liking it. While she was still deciding what to order, she turned to ask what he was getting, but she saw that he'd paid for his own food and gone to find a table without telling her. She was baffled, saying she'd never do that even to a friend. While she said she preferred men to pay on dates, she said his lack of basic courtesy was the bigger issue. "I was really baffled by the lack of basic manners of this guy," she wrote. She decided not to waste money on food she didn't like and told him, "I don't think that we are a good match," and left to get barbecue instead.
The woman said she felt good about walking away instead of forcing herself to stay on a date that was already going badly. She admitted she'd stayed too long on dates before because she felt pressured to be nice and polite, but this time reminded her that she didn't owe anyone that.
Readers in the comments had plenty to say about her disastrous first date and hugely sided with her. One person, u/ObviousSalamandar, wrote, "Don’t hint next time. Say, “I have been there, and I don’t like the food. I do not want to go to that restaurant." Meanwhile, u/blossbluu commented, "The first red flag is the finance guy. Good on you for ditching; he sounds like a douche." Another reader, u/AreYouMyDommy, pointed out a benefit of paying for yourself, writing, "The plus side of paying for yourself—you don’t feel obligated to stay on the date!"
Basic etiquette on a first date is enough to decide if you really want to continue seeing the other person. A similar dating disaster happened to a woman named Serena, whose date told her she should pay the bill because it was "the least she could do." When she asked what he meant, he claimed women should pay a "tax" for the world men had built. Serena paid only for her own meal and left, but the argument continued over text, where she eventually asked him, "What did you build?" His response left her unimpressed, and she ended the exchange by saying, "Says the man who asked me to finance his burger." The woman decided to not stick around after seeing a side of the guy she didn't like.
To see more of her content, you can follow u/immaterialgrl on Reddit.