An adventurous woman has taken on a challenge by dating a man in every country she visits, hoping to meet the love of her life – and has spent £100,000 travelling the world.
Starly Santos, 27, has embraced her passion for travelling, combining it with her pursuit to find the man of her dreams.
After taking to life on the road at 22, she decided to make a New Year's resolution to go out with men from different countries to find a good fit.
So far, Starly has travelled to 75 countries – and dated men in 15 of them this year alone.
She says the challenge has led to her truly experiencing the cultures of the countries she visits.
"I love exploring different cultures and meeting new people, and I do eventually want to meet my person, so I thought this would be a great way to do just that!" Starly, who was born and raised in the US, said.
She meets her dates using apps including Bumble, but after sharing her goal online and going viral on TikTok, the influencer has been inundated with offers – leading to men actually applying to take her out.
Starly, who works as a full-time investor, said: "I have a date application form on my website.
"I've gotten hundreds of applications from countries all over the world."
Naming her dates after the places she has been, out of her 15 dates, 'Mr Bombay' has been her favourite so far.
She added: "We matched on Bumble but had a few mutual friends already.
"He is a real estate developer, investor, and just finished law school.
"It was in Mumbai and it was the best date because I felt the strongest connection.
"Through my travels, I have much more meaningful, authentic and wholesome connections while dating.
"Most of the men have almost all offered or insisted on paying, but if we do multiple activities, I try to pay for at least one thing!"
Starly, who is currently in Sri Lanka, has listed some of her other experiences too. She said: "North America feels more casual and superficial, [there is] a lot of hook-up culture and non-serious dating.
"In South America, men are more forward and also gender roles are very evident, dating feels more casual and fun.
"In Asia, [they are] more conservative in general, [but] also more poetic and meaningful connections.
"In Europe, dating feels more intellectual and cultural because there are so many countries near each other.
"Most people speak at least two languages, but often more."
Starly aims to continue to travel to different countries, and make meaningful connections all over the world before settling down for good.
She said: "I hope to meet someone that I really do like and can see a future with, but even if I don't, I will have had an incredibly unique and insightful journey along the way."
She aims to continue dating and travelling for at least another two years, regardless of who she meets.
She added: "I am open to settling down if I’ve met someone I really like.
"But I will possibly travel for longer until I find someone worth settling down for!
"My secondary goals are also to inspire other and break stigmas around solo travel and it being 'dangerous'.
"By sharing my experiences, I hope to inspire others to get out of their comfort zone and break down the stigmas that exist in certain parts of the world.
"Making meaningful connections with people from all over the globe is what fuels me and I hope to encourage others to do the same."
