The dating world can be savage and with so many online dating apps on the market now, it is not unheard of for a romantic meet up to take an unexpected turn, the Liverpool Echo reports. One long term single woman reckons she's now experienced it all from ghosted to discovering her date has secret wives and fetishes.
However, Gemma Jones admits she was 'pleasantly surprised' when she attended a new dating event called 'Liverpool's Tequila Anti-Dating App Social' that was more of an 'old school single's night out'. The 'wholesome' event organised by Bored of Dating Apps took place in Leaf on Bold Street and came with a free tequila shot and only two rules to get in - you have to be over eighteen and you have to be single.
Gemma went along with some friends to try out the £10 event, which they say they did not have high expectations for but were surprisingly met with live music and a 'bustling room' full of 'people of all types, ages and sexualities'. Despite being happily single, the serial dater said: "If anyone can come along and embellish what I already have then great and if not then that's fine too".
Gemma explained: "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.
"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."
She explained: "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."
Although the night was an overall success, Gemma still ran into some incompatible matches among single lads she got chatting to. She said: "After a few drinks we decided it was time to mingle. 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.
Gemma revealed that many people in the room had braved attending the event alone and that it was refreshing to get talking to people openly and freely. She described it as 'a room full of new friends and wingmen who were 'looking out for each other'.
She added: "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."
She also revealed that her quest to find a lover also turned up in the unexpected form of new friendships too as she exchanged numbers with other single women. She said: "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.
She continued: "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."
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