Every Tinder date is a gamble. Sure, you can improve your odds and try to get an idea of what your match is like before you agree to meet them. Yet, when you grab a cup of coffee with a complete stranger, you're always operating with limited information. That's just part of the game.
The good thing is that you usually won't take any damage, even if there is no chemistry between the two of you. A few awkward talks and that's all. Quick and painless. But occasionally, you might face bad Tinder dates that will make you want to uninstall the app. Heck, some can be so bad you might actually promise yourself to never go back to online dating.
At times like these, it's really nice to know that you're not alone. Other people go through disastrous and worst Tinder dates, too. Some dates might turn into funny Tinder dates stories, but many go totally wrong. And when you look at other Tinder dates gone wrong, you might feel like sharing your Tinder nightmare, too.
A while back, Reddit user u/me_llamo_greg asked other platform users, "What is your Tinder horror story?" Their post received over 14,000 comments—many of which detail some of the worst Tinder dates ever. Here are some of them.
#1 Got A New Friend Because Of The Worst Tinder Date
This couldn't have been asked at a better time.Met a guy on tinder after ending a 6 year relationship. He was in his last year of PT school and seemed to have his s**t together and was really cool. I made it extremely clear that I was in no hurry to rush into a relationship and that I wanted to take my time get to know him better.
We ended up dating some months later. Everything was great. I was actually really happy with him and was going to take him home for Christmas (we had been together about 6 mo at this point). Last Monday, I got a facebook message from a random girl. She basically said she matched with my BF on tinder and found his Facebook account. She noticed that his Facebook noted that he was in a relationship with me, so she messaged me to see if we were in a relationship since they had plans for a date that week. She sent me screenshots of all of their conversations. Bless this little Tinder angel's heart for messaging me. Confront BF, go through phone (not like me), find extremely graphic sexual texts between him and at least 2 other girls besides tinder girl. BF says he was so insecure and worried that I didn't want to be with him that he wanted this false security. Broke up with him.
Got drinks with Tinder girl, we're friends now.
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290points
As more Americans turn to online dating and the #MeToo movement leaves its imprint on the dating scene, nearly half of U.S. adults – and a majority of women – say that dating has become harder in the last 10 years.
Since there are no guarantees whether or not a date will work out for you, you have to be emotionally prepared for pretty much everything that might happen. "Having the right level of expectation is really important to ensuring you both enjoy your date, and stay motivated for future ones," dating coach Hayley Quinn told Bored Panda.
"Dating is a process, so don't go on a first date expecting to meet 'The One'! A good level of expectation to have for a first date is that you're going to have fun and be curious about the other person. A first date isn't about anyone judging anyone else, it's just an opportunity to see if that level of connection between you could be there," Quinn explained.
#2 A Surprising Tinder Date
Matched with a girl, and she was quite pretty in the face. All of her pictures were mostly of just her face/upper body, but I didn't pay any mind. She initiated the conversation, and she was immediately in to hooking up, so of course I invited her over. She gets there and I answer the door, and turns out she was about 6'5". I am 5'8" on a good day. I let out an audible "Holy S**t" and she picked me up and carried me to the bedroom like a baby. No regrets.
206points
#3 Dad Trouble
A little back story: A few years ago I was dating this girl and her father REALLY hated me. Which was a bit odd as most parents love me (or at least lie about it real well). He was just a huge prick and I always called him on his s**t. Anyways, her parents got divorced, we broke up a few months later etc etc.
Fast forward to around a year later. Me and girl from Tinder were dating for a few months and things were starting to get serious. We're at the point where she wants me to meet her family. Mother, step father, little sister. Why not? I have no problems meeting them, lets do it i said. She told me how excited her step dad was to meet me as it turns out we both happen to be Kansas City Chiefs fans.
Well, f**k me if it wasn't the same a-hole father of my ex girlfriend...
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185points
#4 A Foodie Tinder Tale
This girl (we'd been chatting for like a week or so,) hit me up around 10 pm on a Sunday night and said she'd be in my neck of the woods on her way home and wanted to see if i wanted to hang out. I did. So she comes over, and she's got a bag of Mexican food with her. So i put on an episode of Always sunny, and she busts out a monster bean and cheese burrito and a carne asada quesadilla. She asked if i wanted any, but i had already eaten. So this (skinny, mind you) girl puts down BOTH OF THESE THINGS in like 10 minutes. Just destroyed like 2 pounds of food. She wipes her face off, grabs my hand, rubs her t*ts with my hands, and gets up and goes, "welp, i gotta go, you can tell your friends you at least got something out of it."
Never to be seen again. I'm still in love with her.
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170points
#5 When You Don’t Have Tinder
Got a Tinder notification on my phone...realized I don't have Tinder and was holding my girlfriends phone.
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162points
#6 A Bad Tinder Date With A Happy Ending
My first tinder date was interesting. We went for curry at some Japanese restaurant, went for a walk in the park, I bought some macarons. It went well enough to warrant a date to the fair, and that went well enough to get her to come over to my place.
So, we decided the best thing to do was play guitar, make homemade egg rolls and watch Napoleon Dynamite. The egg rolls went over well, and we got the movie going on. We eat up, I set away the dishes and I take my seat next to her, trying to get closer and closer. Eventually we're next to each other and I slowly start leaning onto her shoulder, which she pointed out. I scoot away taking it that she didn't want to be so close, to which she says "yeah that's right, just go all the way over there away from me". Jokingly, I agree and decided to throw the covers that were on the bed behind us, between us. Unfortunately, I forgot we played with the guitar and I decided to put the guitar on the bed. At that point the guitar fell with the covers and hit her on the head.
We've been a couple for 3 months now.
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153points
#8 Best Example Of Tinder Dates Gone Wrong
I went on a date with a guy and the entire time he was talking about how men are superior and how there have been scientific studies to show that "women have an emotional reaction to the color red when they see it". I wonder why he was single..
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146points
#9 Twisted Tinder Dates Stories
My buddy isn't the smartest man. He picked a chick up and drove to a motel. They were walking into the room and she says, "I forgot my purse in the car do you mind if I go grab it?" He says, "yeah that's fine," and tosses her the keys. 5 minutes later he walks outside wondering where she is and his car is gone.
139points
#10 Best Of The Worst Tinder Dates
I needed a date to passover dinner with my friends. He wore a vest and a news boy hat, then introduced himself with a bow and a hat flourish. The night only got worse from there. He refused to eat any of the food because "things on the plate were touching" (It was f*****g soup) and wouldn't shut his mouth during the 12 minutes of seder. When it came time for his train home he purposely missed it so he could stay the night. HAHA NOPE. After a movie with uncomfortable levels of hoverboob, I convinced my friend to come with me to drive him to the nearest train station. During the ride he thought was the best time to tell me he was schizophrenic but didn't take medicine because "it was the devil". He tried to hold my hand saying that they were small and made him feel like a pedophile.
The night ended with him telling me he was going to s**t on the subway and write my name in it.
There was no second date.
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138points
Most of us have probably been in an awkward situation where the date isn't going well, and we want to leave early but can't find a nice way to do it. According to Quinn, we need to take care of that before, not during the evening.
"Instead of thinking about ending a date early, I would try to avoid planning dates where you're going to end up feeling over-committed!" the dating coach said. "Skip dinner and keep it to casual drinks or a coffee in an area convenient to you."
However, suppose you get enough bad vibes to start feeling you need to hit the eject button; Quinn advises being candid and saying, "I appreciate you meeting me, but although it's awkward, I want to be upfront that I don't think we have that chemistry."
"If you feel too unsafe to do this, yes, you can make an excuse to leave (the old phone a friend) or tell a staff member at the venue that you're looking for Angela. This is a code word to let staff members know you feel unsafe, and they should assist you into a taxi," the dating coach said.
#11 Disastrous First Words
I’m slightly on the large side, and I don’t try to hide it. So I was talking to a nice guy on Tinder and we hit it off straight away. We met up at a bar, he saw me and the first words he said to me were, ‘Oh, I didn’t know you were fat.’ So I turned around and walked out.
130points
#12 Chef’s Kiss: Worst Tinder Date Ever
Tinder date with a "famous" chef where I was taken to a dive bar, where he promptly starting talking about how famous he was. We drank and watched sports, he proceeded to tell me "You're cute" and this eventually went to "I am going to make you bleed." He then invited one of his friends to come along. I went outside and he came up to kiss me. I was drunk, so I kissed back. Eventually he proceeded to tell me how he was "being charged with battering his ex-girlfriend, but he totally didn't do it."
Eventually when it came time to pay the bill, "he lost his wallet." Of course, I get stuck with it. "I'll pay you back.". (Needless to say I never got a payment).
Then he leaned up against me. I thought he was trying to kiss me again, but I looked down, and he was peeing on me. In the street. Peeing. On. Me.
I swiftly, being too inebriated to drive, went and got myself a hotel room and a hot shower.
Never again.
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128points
#13 Making Out Forever
I met this guy on tinder and we had a couple really fun dates. I was pretty into him, so on our third date, I decided I wanted to have sex with him. He took me out for a really nice date and then he invited me back to his place for a glass of wine. One thing led to another and we started making out on his couch, fully clothed. But this lasted FOREVER. I was ready to go, if you know what I mean... I didn't want to make out the whole night. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and I took off all of my clothes. Then he sits up, still fully clothed, and looks at me, and says, "I can't have sex with you, I have a STD." Possibly most awkward moment of my life. I tried to be super nice about it, but I promptly got dressed and left. (And as many of my friends have pointed out, I am extremely grateful that he told me).
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120points
#14 My Roommate Is My Tinder Nightmare
I don't use tinder. However, my roommate loves it, and she's brought back numerous visitors. Which is fine, except for the fact that the apartment is tiny and we share a room. And also the fact that my roommate doesn't really care what I end up seeing. And, as it turns out, most guys don't care about having another girl in the room either--some take it as an opportunity for a for a threesome.
My roommate is my tinder nightmare.
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113points
#15 The Tinder Date That Burned
My Tinder horror story is very funny looking back.
The girl comes over. She couldn't get there until 7:30ish. I had some pizza warming in the oven just in case she was hungry. For some stupid reason, I put the pizza in the box to warm in the oven (it was a real pizza from a pizza place).
She wasn't hungry, so we jump right into making out. Clothes get strewn. We head back towards the bedroom. I go into the kitchen and turn the oven off, but leave the pizza in there.
A few minutes later, I am going down on her and I hear a beeping. I lift up my head and say "what was that?"... She says" I think it was a truck backing up". I hop up just to check in the oven. Without my glasses on, I had accidentally missed "off" by an 8th of an inch and my s**tty oven went to broil...The beeping was telling me it was preheated :(
I stupidly open the oven and smoke comes billowing out. Then the box bursts into flames. I am standing there butt naked and I start yelling "F**K F**K OH S**T". Then she comes running in totally naked as I pull the box out thinking I am going to pour water on it (It was stressful I don't know what I was thinking). I set it on the stove and then she hits it with a dish towel. Sparks and burnt s**t go all over my kitchen but the box is still on fire. My sink is so full of s**t that I can't get the box in there.
She yells "Bathtub" so I pick up a GODDAMN BURNING BOX and run to my bathroom over the carpet, my shower mat and past the shower curtain (all very flammable). The entire top of the pizza box was either in flames or charred and flaking off as I ran.
Remember, we are both totally naked this whole time. So imagine a naked, screaming man running through his s***ty apartment with a burning pizza box in his hands. That was me. This was a date.
I throw the box in the bathtub and turn the shower on.
She was so super cool about it. She helped me clean everything up, and then we got dressed and just stood outside for awhile. She could tell I was really freaked out, and kept reassuring me all was well.
I still have burn marks in my bathtub and on my bathroom door.
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110points
#16 A Creepy Tinder Experience
Started speaking to this guy on Tinder a few months ago. He seemed alright, but not my normal type. Regardless, we started speaking for a couple of days. I didn't realise how stupid I was until now, but I mentioned where I worked.
The night I mentioned my workplace, I saw a guy walk past that looked a lot like him. I hadn't met him in person so I wasn't 100%. I forgot about it and a couple of days later, it was quiet in work but my phone battery was low. I said I'd speak to him later before my phone died. Que him coming in 10 minutes later with a f***ing iPhone charger. Yes, this might have been a nice gesture if you know, I'd actually met him face to face before.
This was really weird because he said he lived the other side of the city from where I work. I wanted to cut ties straight away, but I thought I'd return the charger after I finished work.
He said he would be in a bar around the corner, so when I finished I met up with him, gave him his charger and made some excuse to go home. To my horror, I saw on his Instagram that he'd taken a smiling selfie earlier in the day with the caption 'I'm now a taken man ;)'. I'd seen him like not even twice.
To make it even scarier, for a good few weeks, every time I'd finish work I would see him casually walking past on his own, exactly at the time I finished. Really creeped me out for a while.
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100points
Sometimes, the people we are no longer interested in don't get the message and continue to pursue us. "Ghosting can feel like the path of least resistance if you've only had one date; however, even if it feels obvious to you that you won't be seeing one another again, this may not be the case for the other person," Quinn explained.
We all need closure. And while we might feel uncomfortable giving it to our former romantic interest in some situations, it's the decent thing to do. "People struggle to move on if there isn't a clear resolution to the date, so I would air on the side of respect and send a clear message about how you're feeling," the dating coach said.
"The best way to phrase this is not to assume they want to see you either and to give them an opportunity to save face—a message like, 'Thanks for the drinks yesterday. I'm sure you feel the same, but I didn't feel a romantic connection. So I wanted to wish you the best for your future dates.'"
If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. Don't worry about it. Around 4 in 10 Americans (40 million) use online dating websites and apps today. There are plenty of other people you both can meet.
#17 A Weird Tinder Experience
Talked to a girl a few times. Set up a date. She calls me a couple hours before we're going to meet, saying she's busy doing something. Bulls**t excuse; she cancels.
At about 11pm I get a text message that just says: "Can you come over?" or something similar. Being a mix of lonely and bored, I said what the hell, closed my self-sympathy pizza box and hopped in my car.
Halfway through the drive, I get another text that says "Can you get me some food?" Sure. She wants a 20-piece Chicken McNugget with extra bbq sauce. Very specific. Super weird, but fine, munchies.
Show up and she seems maybe drunk or something, so I give her the food and she insists I stay and we watch tv. She's watching the movie Powder. If you haven't seen the movie, it's super not date friendly. We make small talk, I have a beer. I'm not gonna push anything because obviously the girls got something going on, so I'm ready to bow out.
The movie ends. She stands up and very bluntly says "I'm going to bed. I don't know if I'm going to f*** you or not, but you can stay if you want."
She was cute and I was eager, so why not see what happens? I hop in bed while she's in the bathroom. She comes into her bedroom, climbs on top of me, her hands on either side of my head. She leans in, I think she's going to start kissing my neck, and then I hear her start snoring. Very loudly. I'm dumbfounded.
I lie there for a moment thinking about what I should do. This is interrupted by her ripping the hugest fart.
Goodnight.
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97points
#18 Dating Is Too Confusing, I’m All Done
Showed up to the restaurant, waited about 30 minutes. Ordered myself some food and was about to leave when he texted me: "there's a liquor store across the street from the restaurant, can you pick me up 2 six packs?"
I told him I wouldn't. He says he's decided to play frisbee with his dog instead. Deleted app, went to liquor store, picked up wine and went home.
He texted me for a month or so after to tell me he's just bought tickets to see me dance (I'm a retired ballerina, haven't been in anything for a few years). Then he texts me an hour after and tells me how great I was on stage. I never responded.
Dating is too confusing. I'm all done.
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96points
#19 A Real Tinder Nightmare
I started taking to this really attractive mid-30 guy. Seemed pretty cool, but he had this idea that women were supposed to be at home, in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant... I'm not that kinda gal. But I figured whatever, maybe he's just joking. So we talk for a few weeks and then he invites himself over to my place. He gets to my place... The picture on his profile had to have been at least 5 years old. He was a lot larger and a lot grayer than his picture. But again, I thought whatever. We go up to my room and we're sitting on my bed talking. He than casually drops "I've raped women before" on me, like it's nothing. Then proceeds to push me onto the bed, face in the mattress, full weight on top of me, taking these huge deep breaths of me, apparently. Then he starts telling me about some of the women he's r*ped and how they really liked it and would come back for me. Wtf man?!? I kicked his a** out. Not today Satan..
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91points
#20 My Tinder Date Led Me to My Doppelgänger
It was our second date, I was pretty into her and the first date was really good so I was expecting a great night.
She suggested we go to a favourite bar of hers, have a few drinks and chill out. When we get there, we discover a load of her friends sitting around in a group. She introduces me and sheepishly mentions we met on Tinder. This gains me a few weird looks. One guy (who happened to look quite like me) reacts a little more obviously to the rest.
My date introduces her friends and goes off to get drinks, leaving me to the groups collective judging stare. The dude who looks like me says "What was your name again"? After I say it, the group turn to mutter to each other. He smiles wryly and asks "What about your full name?". When I tell him, the group erupts in laughter.
Turns out the guy who looked like me was in fact her ex....who also happened to have the same first and last name as me. Made for some incredibly awkward conversation.
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90points