When Jade Asha came out of a four-year relationship, she drowned out her heartbreak and disappointment in her love for romantic comedies. After hitting online dating apps, Jade quickly went from watching Bridget Jones on her television screen to becoming a real-life version of her.
Singleton Jade was set on finding 'the one' but instead she faced a string of dating disasters - including the guy that called her 'grandma' and the date that ghosted her. Reflecting back, Jade, 34, told the Mirror: "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."
The actress and writer experienced the highs and lows of single life during her twenties, from going wild with her friends to being rejected by guys not worth her time.
"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," she recalled.
"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."
On a different date, Jade got invited to a nice restaurant but the guy whipped the menu out of her hands and demanded another - "as he had a Groupon voucher he wanted to use".
Another dinner was going okay until halfway through the evening, she realised she'd dated his older brother.
Not long after, Jade thought she had truly turned a corner when she matched with a man who ticked all her boxes - but he sent her crazy.
"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," she said.
"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.
Do you have a dating story to share? Email nia.dalton@reachplc.com.
