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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Elle Hunt

‘I’ve been on plenty of dates – but nothing happened’: are we looking at the death of the kiss?

George Peppard and Audrey Hepburn kiss in the rain
The way we were … George Peppard and Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, 1961. Photograph: TCD/Prod.DB/Alamy

Spencer’s last kiss was two years ago, on a first date. It started off promisingly: after matching on Tinder, they met for a walk, then got drinks and ice-cream, before having dinner at her place. Finally, they kissed. “I didn’t like it,” says Spencer. He still struggles to identify why. “I found her attractive. There was chemistry, but something was lacking. There was nothing behind the kiss – it felt like a mechanical thing to do.”

That wasn’t just Spencer’s most recent kiss – it was his first ever, at the age of 29. Now 31, he says a second kiss in some ways feels less possible than having sex: “The jump feels way bigger.”

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