The dating world is brutal.
Tinder, Hinge, Bumble - I've tried all of the apps. With about seven years of singledom up my sleeve, I've treaded into the deepest depths of the dating world.
From being ghosted to weird dates - with one even ending in a literal car crash - and secret wives and fetishes, I've probably experienced it all. All except one thing - an old school single's night.
READ MORE: New coffee and desserts café Fat Fux opening on Bold Street
I'm often mithered with questions such as "why are you single?" or "when are you going to find a man and settle down?" In all honestly I'm just happy being single - I'm content with life as it is. If anyone can come along and embellish what I already have then great and if not then that's fine too.
But me being me, I like to exhaust all options so I decided to try that one final thing when a single friend told me about an "app free" event. Plus it couldn't hurt to be a wingman for my other single friends.
An organiser named Bored of Dating Apps set up a night in Leaf on Bold Street. The event, named Liverpool's Tequila Anti-Dating App Social, was £10 entry on a Friday evening and the ticket came with a free shot of "Dutch courage" - Tequila.
There were only two rules to get in. You had to be over the age of 18 and single.
I bought my ticket and we planned a girl's night, not fully knowing what to expect. We told ourselves if it was dreadful then we could always turn it into a normal night out.
In all honesty, I expected it to be pretty dead. I imagined a near-empty room of sad and lonely singles, all too scared to talk to each other.
What happened in reality was a complete polar opposite to what I had conjured up. We walked up the stairs to a hustling, bustling room, filled with live music and people of all types, ages and sexualities. I was pleasantly surprised.
My two friends and I took a seat, with a double gin in hand to help calm any nerves we might have had. We started eyeing up other people in the room, with each of us picking out our favourites and vowing to speak to them later on.
Then we spotted a girl who was stood alone, so we asked her to sit with us. We learnt that she had bravely decided to attend the night alone, being the only single one out of her friend group.
After a few drinks we decided it was time to mingle - our new friend in tow. I got speaking to one lad pretty much straight away and it turned out we had a fair bit in common. It was going well, it was nice.
But then I told him what I do for a living and he literally turned his back on me, not speaking another word. Was this the in person version of being ghosted? I felt my jaw drop to the floor in shock.
Very strange but the night had to go on and I didn't let it dampen my spirits. Instead I headed to the bar to claim my free tequila.
In the queue, a guy offered me his free tequila too. One of the nice quirks of the night was that you could do as you pleased with your shot - either down it yourself to help make everyone in the room look better or pass it to someone who takes your fancy as an ice breaker.
While at the bar waiting to be served it felt like a women's bathroom en masse. You know like when you go out to town and make friends for life in the loos and end up spending half your night in there? It was like that but on a much bigger scale.
It turned out a lot of people in the room had gone it alone, so it was great to chat to them and help them get talking to whoever caught their eye, making sure they were safe and comfortable while having a ball. It was like a room full of new friends and wingmen. Everyone was looking out for each other and it actually turned out to be a pretty wholesome night.
It was worlds apart from what I first imagined. I came home with numbers from two lovely guys and, although a couple of weeks later it hasn't lead anywhere, it was nice to get out of my comfort zone and chat to people.
The most surprising part was coming home with numbers from other women - something, as a straight woman, I didn't expect at all. But they have all been saved in my phone ready for the next single's night, ready to chat about dates we've been on and ready to be each others support.
It turns out single nights aren't just for your traditional relationships. You can also come out of them with new friends in your life too. Everyone in that room had something in common - being single - meaning that everyone had a starting point.
When you hit a certain age you find more and more of your friendship circle settling down with partners and having less time to socialise, and it can be difficult always being the third wheel.
So if you find yourself in that situation I'd suggest trying one of the event nights. You never know you could meet your future husband or wife, or even just a new friend.
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
READ NEXT:
Christine Lampard back on Loose Women after husband Frank sacked from Everton
Parents on Universal Credit urged to claim back hundreds of pounds
Gogglebox's Ellie Warner leaves UK with boyfriend ahead of giving birth
Tesco shoppers checking receipts after man 'clears shelf' for 6p
Millions warned to check their mobile phones ahead of network changes next month
