A self-proclaimed Bridget Jones has opened up about the disastrous dating experiences she had during her 20s. After coming out of a four-year relationship Jade Asha sought solace in rom-coms.
But when she got back into the dating game she was as unlucky in love as London's most famous singleton. Jade was determined to find her Mr Darcy but was instead met with a string of horrible dates - including the guy that called her 'grandma' and getting ghosted.
"On one date, I drank too many Long Island iced teas and was so drunk that by 5pm I had blacked out, fallen over and knocked the waitress over too. One of my dates was a bodybuilder - not my usual type and three years my junior.
"He called me 'grandma' - it was a joke, but a bad joke that friend zoned him immediately. He took me to a casino and spent most of the night ignoring me in favour of the fruit machines.
"I wasn't too bothered but, drink in hand, I casually played a machine and won £200. So the night wasn't a complete loss," the 34-year-old told The Mirror.
On another one of her unlucky dates, the man wanted her to choose a meal from a specific menu because he had a Groupon voucher. Another date she had was going okay until halfway through the evening, when she realised she'd dated his older brother.
Not long after that experience, Jade thought she had found the ideal man. He ticked all of her boxes but he sent her crazy.
Jade, an actress and writer, said: "I lost my head. I didn't follow any of the so-called 'rules of dating' - common sense was out the window. I didn't recognise myself.
"I became obsessive in my need to know more about him. We had three or four amazing dates and then he ghosted me. I learned a painful lesson that however much you like someone, you can't force them to like you."
Jade's wild dating years taught her a lot about love and eventually led her to meet her husband at the age of 30, who she's now expecting a baby with.
"I'm completely boring now but having all those crazy and embarrassing moments in my twenties has given me everything I need to write romcoms for decades," Jade said. Inspired by Bridget Jones and queens like her, Jade is putting all her dating disasters into a film called Ghosted and hopes it brings comfort to other singletons on their quest for romance.
