Finding the perfect romantic partner that lasts beyond the first couple of dates can seem like catching lightning in a bottle.
While many love connections are made online, taking things to the next level and meeting the prospective significant other in person can wind up being a completely different experience.
Sometimes it's hit or miss.
Let's focus on the misses.
Strangers online shared the moments things took a detour south when Redditor Fun_Willingness5995 asked:
"What was a time in which a date was going well, but the other person ruined it?"
Things started off promising until they weren't.
He Was Thirsty
"She told me she had pretty bad anxiety being in public and asked if she could make me dinner instead. We went for a walk prior to the dinner so we could see if we wanted to do the dinner after. She was super stoked for dinner after our walk."
"Dinner was great and she asked if I wanted to watch a movie. About 20 minutes into the movie she started nudging into me and initiated making out. After starting to really get into the heavier side of things I felt something tap my shoulder. I turned my head quickly as it startled me and I am met eye to eye with a 4-5 year old boy who then asks me if he can have a cup of water."
"His mom starts screaming at him to go back to his room which he runs as fast as he can back too. She starts apologizing and tries to reinitiated. I told her to give me a minute. Got a cup of water and called for him to come back out which he did. I handed him the cup he took a drink and said thank you and ran back into his room."
"I was pretty riled up at the idea she had her kid there without saying anything AND screamed at him for asking for something so basic as water. I left after that and vowed to never be that parent with my own kids."
– adtSacklunch
Heartless For Sentimental Values
"I was out with a guy having a lovely time and he made a comment about a copper bangle bracelet I was wearing. I told him that it was really special to me, I got it during my semester abroad in South Africa from a local. It was a solid copper band but in the middle there was copper wire woven around. He asked to take a closer look so I took it off and handed it to him. He then snapped it in half thinking the copper wire was a spring. I was visibly upset and he said that it was a sign that I needed to move on from my trip and stop living in the past (?!!?). I never spoke to him again."
– kelseyboo1001
Well, Look At The Time
"Ordered a pint of beer, it was really good. Got halfway through waiting for the date to show up. She sat down, chatted and said 'this isn't what I was expecting' then got up and left. Ruined my beer."
"My dating pictures were accurate, so not sure what happened."
– Tiffanlyn
These were totally unexpected.
So There Were These Two Dudes
"I met off a site he was nice (if a little awkward) and he couldn't help but show me his Twitch stream gameplays for 25 minutes straight, watching me expectantly. (Which, might have been okay for a conversation starter actually, I love gaming but there's only so much of watching someone else's stream with no funny commentary or context one can handle before mentally checking out)"
– scuttlebuttleducky
An Unstaged Event
"We had dinner and all was going well, and we were wandering down the dark sidewalk engaged in conversation, when she walked straight into a signpost that neither of us noticed. I let out one nervous laugh before I could stop it, and she accused me of engineering the event for my amusement."
– FrightenedOfSpoons
Rude Social Engagement
"Like the first 80% of it was a nice/awkward but cute first date. Then at the end she pulled out her phone and started fighting with people on Twitter and narrating all of it. It was a long drive back."
– No-New-Therapy
Confidence is one thing but this is just going too far.
Slow Your Roll
"Literally went on a date last night and was going really well until dessert when he said 'god, I can’t wait to put kids in you.' We hadn’t even talked about kids at that point."
– Hannah1308
Moving Too Fast
"I was on a date with a newly divorced woman. We were having a nice dinner and getting to know each other before it turned awkward. She didn't tell me she had kids until we were eating dinner, and she began moving things way too fast, talking about me meeting her kids right away, moving in together, etc. This was on our first date, and I didn't want to be anybody's step parent, much less get U-Hauly so quickly."
"We finished our dinner and parted ways amicably after a heart to heart, and there were no hard feelings. She was simply getting carried away with the excitement of being single and going out with new people. She agreed that she needed to let the ink dry on her divorce a little longer and take her time before introducing new people to her children, and we fell out of contact soon after."
– ThingsOfThatNaychah
Unexpected Cameo
"Not me, but a female friend of mine was just telling me about her most recent OKCupid date. Her description went something like this:"
"Everything was going really great. He is smart and funny, and easy to talk to. He seems like a great dad to his kids and gets along ok with his ex (always a good sign). Just really down-to-earth guy and it seemed like there was some nice chemistry. After dinner we decided to go have a drink at a fun little bar about a mile away. We got in his car to drive over there. He kissed me, which was nice."
"Then he took out his junk."
– Candayai
There's nothing worse than having your expectations fail you after a date turns sour.
But rest assured, there are plenty of fish in the sea–and as much as the supportive cliché is overused–there is truth to the fact that the right person will come along at the right time.
So don't lose hope, all you single people out there.
Cupid may land the target when you least expect it.
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.