Anyone who's ever so much as dipped a toe in the strange waters of online dating can tell you a few weird and sometimes completely baffling tales.
However, some experiences are a little more bizarre than most.
Taking to TikTok, a woman who goes by the name of @no_thanks3 opened up about the time she matched on Tinder with a man named Ryan. This was back when she was living in West LA, a period of her life when she says she was "swiping my little heart out".
After they matched, Ryan "immediately" dropped her a message, asking her how "spontaneous" she was.
Although no_thanks3 doesn't regard herself as being all that spontaneous, she decided to go along with whatever was going on, replying, "super, what's up?"
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Just one hour after asking her to "wear something nice", Ryan rocked up at her home and the woman got into his car (something she absolutely wouldn't recommend her followers do as a rule).
She recalled: "We go down the 405 and start chit-chatting and then we get on the 10 and I'm like 'we are gunna go to Santa Monica, how cute', but then he pulls up on PCH and I'm like, oh, Malibu?"
The car pulled up outside a cliff-side restaurant, which @no_thanks3 describes as "super nice, super boujee", and they headed into an "amazing" private room at the back where about ten people were seated around a table.
At this point, she started to get confused, with diners turning around excitedly and exclaiming, "oh my god Ryan, you brought her!" as if they'd been eagerly anticipating her arrival.
Leaving her followers hanging temporarily, @no_thanks3 picked up the conclusion of the story in a part two video, in which she revealed exactly what was going on.
She said: "So he goes to greet this older woman at the head of the table, kisses her on the cheek, and is like 'happy birthday mom'. And I'm like, are you freaking kidding me?"
As they'd entered during the third course of the six-course meal, Ryan's stepdad - who he apparently doesn't see eye-to-eye with - said that it was best that they didn't order anything at all. So the 'couple" just sat down and proceeded to drink and eat bread, with a drunk @no_thanks3 finding herself pretending to be a law student at Pepperdine University.
Despite having to play a part - and put on an accent - Ryan's family appeared genuinely impressed and didn't even twig that she was making everything up, asking her to go to future family events with them. Ryan was also pleased with her convincing girlfriend role and asked her to go on more family dates with him.
She continued: "I'm like, 'no dude, buy me Taco Bell' and he was like 'I'll pay you' so I said okay and went on three more dates with him for a little side cash".
Unfortunately, Ryan turned out to be "really boring and awkward", so love was not on the cards. However, on the bright side, @no_thanks3 believes she can pretty much "teach an improv class now" after her impromptu character workshopping
Her followers found the story absolutely hilarious, with one person remarking that it reminded them of the plot of the romcom Holidate.
Another applauded, "every step of this journey is exactly what I would have done. Bravo".
Do you have a strange or interesting dating story to tell? We pay for stories. Let us know in the comments or email us at julia.banim@reachplc.com.
