Hey! I’m over here! (Credit: innovatedcaptures)

First dates are nerve-wracking. There’s just so much potential – for a happy future with your new partner and for utter chaos.

If any of these things happen on that all-important first date, you might want to start looking for your nearest exist…

1. You forget the sound of your own voice


It’s a natural reaction to ramble on when you’re nervous but if you spend the first 10 minutes without uttering a single word, your date is speaking way too much.

2. You don’t seem to be piquing their interest

After you’ve been in a relationship a while, it can become normal to relax and allow your mind to wander.



On a first date, though, the person you’re speaking to really should be awake and communicative at the very least…

…and not checking out ‘better options’.

3. You’re piquing their interest a little too much

It’s great to be attentive, ask questions and actually listen to the answers.

It’s all about dialogue and seeing if you have a connection that requires more exploration.

However, you don’t want clingy. Not on the first date and probably not for a good few dates after that…

4. The mirror is more appealing than you are

Vanity is not sexy. If your date is spending more time looking in the mirror than at you then you’re better off out of there.

5. They look at you – but not at your face

There’s a lot going on below the neckline, we get it.

But if your date’s eyes spend most of the time looking you up and down, they really aren’t there for your scintillating conversation.

6. They call you by a different name

Perhaps they didn’t care enough to remember your name beforehand.

Maybe they go on so many dates they’ve all blurred into one.

Or worse, just maybe they’re thinking of somebody else. Just say my name. It’s not difficult.

7. They clearly don’t grasp personal hygiene

You shouldn’t smell your date before you see them. End of.

8. They’re not all there

You might not need or want Einstein on a first date but someone who can carry a conversation is not too big an ask.

If they’re confused by the simplest question or comment, you’re probably in for a long night.

9. They spend all their time on the phone

Put. It. Down.

10. They have no sense of humour

Nothing takes the fun out of a joke quite like having to explain it!

11. They are wildly inappropriate

Wondering why I’m not laughing? Perhaps because the only things you find funny are racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic or just plain ignorant. I’ll be leaving now.

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