Six weeks in, your cousin’s wedding invite lands with a plus-one box. Here’s how to decide whether to ask, how to ask, and what to do if he says no or maybe. Priya, 33, from Wolverhampton, had been seeing Tom for six weeks when the invitation arrived. Her cousin’s wedding, Saturday 14 November, a barnContinue reading “Should You Take a New Date to a Wedding? Five Rules for the Plus-One Question”
Category Archives: Dating Tips
Saturday in Ipswich, 2pm to Last Orders: What a Really Good First Date Looks Like
Rosie swore Ipswich had nothing for a first date. Then she planned one Saturday properly. Here’s how it went, hour by hour, and why it actually worked. Rosie, 29, from Ipswich, had a stock answer whenever anyone asked where to take a first date in town. “There’s nothing here. You end up in the sameContinue reading “Saturday in Ipswich, 2pm to Last Orders: What a Really Good First Date Looks Like”
Setting an End Time Before a First Date Doesn’t Kill the Spark — It Creates It
Telling your date you’ve got somewhere to be at half eight sounds like bad manners. Turns out it’s exactly why the best first dates in the UK actually work. Danny, 34, from Sunderland, nearly cancelled his Tuesday night date twice. Third time’s the charm, he told himself, standing outside a bar on High Street WestContinue reading “Setting an End Time Before a First Date Doesn’t Kill the Spark — It Creates It”
In Depth: How to Be More Confident in Dating: 12 Things That Actually Work
Dating confidence isn’t a personality you’re born with, and it isn’t a feeling you wait for. Twelve things that build it — starting with the one everyone skips. Ellie, 32, from Stirling, spent the first hour of a date last November performing a version of herself she didn’t much like. She laughed at things thatContinue reading “In Depth: How to Be More Confident in Dating: 12 Things That Actually Work”
She Said Yes to a Beach Walk in Bournemouth in September. She’d Have Said No to Dinner.
Hannah, 34, nearly cancelled a windy September walk along Bournemouth seafront. Four hours later she understood what her dinner dates had been doing to her. Hannah, 34, from Poole, had already decided she wasn’t going. It was the second Tuesday in September. The forecast said fourteen degrees and a wind coming straight off the water.Continue reading “She Said Yes to a Beach Walk in Bournemouth in September. She’d Have Said No to Dinner.”
How Much Time Does a New Relationship Actually Need? A Relationship Coach Does the Maths
Ellie’s diary was full long before she met anyone. A relationship coach on the hours a new relationship really takes — and what has to go to make room for it. Ellie, 34, from Reading, scrolls through next month in her calendar app and can’t find a single empty evening. Netball on Mondays. Her sisterContinue reading “How Much Time Does a New Relationship Actually Need? A Relationship Coach Does the Maths”
He Booked a Restaurant She Couldn’t Afford. The Message She Sent at 4pm Saved the Date.
She was three hours from her first date and about forty quid short of relaxed. The message she sent at 4pm is the one most of us are far too British to send. Nadia, 31, from Portsmouth, was three hours from her first date and about forty quid short of feeling relaxed about it. TheContinue reading “He Booked a Restaurant She Couldn’t Afford. The Message She Sent at 4pm Saved the Date.”
What Actually Happens in the First Twenty Minutes of a First Date — Minute by Minute
Most first dates are quietly decided long before the second drink. Here’s what’s really going on in the first twenty minutes, and what to do with them. Callum, 31, from Dundee, arrived eleven minutes early and spent nine of them sitting in the car park rehearsing. By the time he walked in, he’d played theContinue reading “What Actually Happens in the First Twenty Minutes of a First Date — Minute by Minute”
Everyone Says Never Date a Friend’s Ex. The Actual Rule Is Simpler Than That.
Never date a friend’s ex is the rule everyone repeats and nobody can actually explain. Here’s what it’s really protecting, and the conversation that saves it. Robyn, 31, from Chester, spent four months not texting a man she actually liked. She’d met Callum at a birthday do near the Rows. They ended up talking forContinue reading “Everyone Says Never Date a Friend’s Ex. The Actual Rule Is Simpler Than That.”
In Depth: How to Meet Someone Without Dating Apps: What Actually Works in the UK Right Now
You deleted the apps and swore you’d meet someone properly. Then nothing happened. Here’s what genuinely works offline in the UK, and how long it takes. Callum, 36, from Stirling, deleted his last dating app on a Sunday in January and told the group chat he was going to meet someone the normal way, likeContinue reading “In Depth: How to Meet Someone Without Dating Apps: What Actually Works in the UK Right Now”