The Last First Date – A Snapshot of Online Dating
I joined Match.com in March of 2018, with hesitancy and rather extensive encouragement from both my sister and my best friend, the latter of whom took our engagement pictures and will also be shooting our wedding. You can see more pictures on their site here.
Let me paint the picture for you. My first date on Match was with this guy who was financially affluent and had an expensive luxury car–which is all fine–until you post multiple pictures of said vehicle on social media with the caption “#blessed”. It’s cool if you’re fortunate and all, but I will never support the notion that owning a Mercedes makes you a candidate for an ordained consecration from an almighty higher power. I just can’t do it.
Even more determined to be my true self whilst braving the jungle that is online dating, I decided to filter my dialogue a little less. Weed ’em out, you know? The second date–when he told me he lived in Beverly Hills, I replied [verbatim] with “I literally only ever drive to Beverly Hills to see my therapist.” Which is true, mind you. Moving right along to date #3…
In the meantime, Matt was working 10-12 hour days, 6-7 days a week at the new Rams stadium in Inglewood. He had been considering the whole online dating thing and decided to test the waters when he saw a commercial for a free 5-day trial on match.com. Lucky for me, his first [and only] Match date was me–March 31, 2018.
Our date took place at Golden Mean, a cute little plant-based cafe in Santa Monica. We were both extremely hungry (something that certainly hasn’t changed). After ordering burgers to-go, we walked down the street to a picnic area that overlooked the beach. Our conversation was filled with typical introductory Q&A. I’m highly introverted and probably speak a little less frequently than most. Matt–and this is one of the things I love about him–is not that way. At all. I remember sitting on the wooden bench, eating my burger and thinking “Damn, this kid can talk”. In a very endearing, curious type of way, of course.
We finished our food and walked down the 3rd street promenade, grabbing a matcha latte from Starbucks and continuing conversation. I think we ended up walking and talking for like 2 hours or more.
Conversely, I think Matt was genuinely impressed that I ate the entire burger I had ordered for lunch. And if I’m being honest, I was also a little impressed myself. Regardless, I do know that we both felt like we’d somehow just met someone we’d known for years.
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