Blind date: His mother ‘texted him an hour and a half into our date’ - The Boston Globe

Blind date: His mother ‘texted him an hour and a half into our date’ - The Boston Globe
Brought Together by a Friendly Cupid - The New York Times
6 Online Dating Tips for You If You Want to Stay Happy and Hopeful - MakeUseOf
Bake Off's Candice Brown 'signs up to app Raya' after split from husband Liam Macauley - Daily Mail

Posted: 25 Sep 2020 07:47 AM PDT

His interests: Brewing beer, gardening, hiking

His perfect Saturday: Brunch followed by playing pool and going dancing

Becca K.: 27 / tech recruiter

On a desert island, she'd bring: A cribbage board, sour beer, and Spotify

When she is happiest: At a backyard BBQ with friends, yard games, and drinks

7 P.M. ZOOM VIDEO CALL, BRIGHTON AND SOMERVILLE

MOTHER KNOWS BEST

Chet My mom introduced me to the column. I thought the concept was clever and decided to apply.

Becca I'm an extrovert, so I'll take any opportunity to meet someone new.

Chet I took a shower, gelled my hair, put on cologne (even though only I would smell it), and put on a black undershirt with a striped blazer.

Becca I did a quick workout, got a glass of wine, and did some pacing around my apartment.

Chet I thought Becca looked good in her glasses (which I did compliment her on), as well as her nose ring. She had a gorgeous smile that I enjoyed seeing throughout the night.

Becca He was cute. The first thing I noticed was his suit jacket. I thought it was cute that he dressed up for the date (I was definitely more casual). He had an extremely warm smile.

MEET THE PARENT

Chet She has a bubbly personality so we hit it off. We talked about where we went to undergrad and our current jobs, as well as future plans.

Becca Really nothing was off-limits. Each "basic" question led to a great conversation. We had a lot of common interests.

Chet Becca works part time at a brewery; I am home brewing an IPA, so we really connected on our passion for beer.

Becca He has a great relationship with his mom, which was adorable. She actually texted him an hour and a half into our date and was like "HOW DID IT GO????" which I got such a kick out of.

Chet I ordered tagliatelle carbonara as well as tiramisu for dessert from Tartufo. The food was absolutely delicious although I did not eat that much throughout the date.

Becca I ordered small plates from Sarma, one of my favorite Somerville restaurants. The Turkish lamb meatballs and Brussels sprouts were definitely the stars of the show.

Chet It was nice to talk to someone who also recently got out of a long-term relationship because we were able to connect on similar things we went through.

Becca At one point he asked how long I dated my previous boyfriend, and was taken aback a little when I said it was an ex-girlfriend.

GAMING THE SYSTEM

Chet The date lasted around two hours, which seemed to go by quickly.

Becca My roommates were playing games and kept harassing me to join. After two hours, our conversation reached a natural ending point, so I decided to join them.

Chet We said our goodbyes and I went to watch the end of the Celtics game.

Becca We exchanged numbers and expressed interest in meeting up.

SECOND DATE?

Chet It seemed like we were both interested. I certainly am open to meeting her in person or on another virtual date.

Becca We're planning to see each other in the next couple weeks!

POST-MORTEM

Chet / A

Becca / A

Brought Together by a Friendly Cupid - The New York Times

Posted: 18 Sep 2020 12:00 AM PDT

Erica Ann Fugger and Viswanaath Gowri Sanker like to joke that they owe their relationship to a friend who played Cupid.

After matching on Tinder in 2014, Mr. Gowri Sanker, 31, who goes by Vish, realized he and Ms. Fugger, 29, shared a mutual friend, Shreyas Khandate. He asked Mr. Khandate about Ms. Fugger, but the couple never ended up chatting on the app.

Almost two years later, Mr. Khandate decided it was time for Ms. Fugger and Mr. Gowri Sanker to meet. Ms. Fugger was planning to attend the All Nations celebration at the International House, a nonprofit residence and program center for scholars and young professionals in Manhattan, where she was an alumna. Mr. Khandate, who was a resident, invited Mr. Gowri Sanker as his guest and introduced him to Ms. Fugger. They quickly bonded over their shared love of adventure and vegetarian food.

They dated casually for a few months, and in the fall of 2016 Mr. Gowri Sanker traveled to India, where he grew up, to visit family. Ms. Fugger's birthday happened to be during Mr. Gowri Sanker's trip, and she was surprised to receive a dozen red roses from him.

"I later realized it was a very rash decision, because he had fallen ill with typhoid during that time," Ms. Fugger said. "He was holed up in bed and sending me roses across the ocean."

When Mr. Gowri Sanker returned, their relationship deepened, and by early 2017 they had started to date more seriously.

In mid-2017, Mr. Gowri Sanker, who was trying to transition from a student visa to a work visa, learned that it was unlikely he would be able to stay in the United States, and started to make plans to move to London. Around the same time, Ms. Fugger was offered a job at Washington College in Chestertown, Md., and moved to Tolchester, Md.

"The relationship was so new, and we didn't know if there was any way that we could stay together with long distance," said Ms. Fugger, who is a doctoral student in American studies at Rutgers University-Newark. They decided to meet in Central Park to talk about their future, but it only took 10 minutes for them to agree that long distance was worth it.

"We were both certain that we found something special, and felt very committed to making it work across the distance," Ms. Fugger said.

"It was very apparent for me at that point," said Mr. Gowri Sanker, who is a senior manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Manhattan. Trying to sort out his visa had been mentally and emotionally draining, and he realized how grateful he was to have Ms. Fugger by his side. "The companionship and the support that I had from Erica was really special to me, and I could feel that it was making a difference to my life at that point."

In the spring of 2019, Mr. Gowri Sanker's company brought him back to the United States and helped him secure a visa. He moved to Jersey City, N.J., and Ms. Fugger joined him in late summer.

In the fall of 2019, the couple took a trip to India to visit Mr. Gowri Sanker's family and attend Mr. Khandate's wedding. Mr. Gowri Sanker wanted to surprise Ms. Fugger on the trip by asking her to marry him, but his plan didn't stay a secret for long. On their first night in Chennai, Mr. Gowri Sanker's mother took Ms. Fugger aside to ask, hypothetically, what she would say if Mr. Gowri Sanker were to ask her to marry him.

"I always joke that Vish's mom is actually the one who proposed to me," Ms. Fugger said.

The couple planned to marry March 20 at New York City Hall, followed by celebrations in India in November and in the United States the next summer, but changed their plans because of the coronavirus. They were married Aug. 21 at Liberty State Park in New Jersey. The bride's brother, Scott Fugger, a Universal Life minister, officiated.

6 Online Dating Tips for You If You Want to Stay Happy and Hopeful - MakeUseOf

Posted: 30 Sep 2020 09:00 AM PDT

Seven years ago, I met my husband on the dating website "Plenty of Fish". Now, we have a beautiful life together. Before I met him, I had fun chatting with different men. I met some strange ones, great ones, and then "The one".

When we are having bad luck when dating, our faith can become depleted. We start to wonder if it's worth the headache.

I can tell you, it is worth it. There are ways you can continue to use online dating services and maintain your sanity. Don't worry, none of them involve deleting your dating apps!

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1. Forget Unrealistic Expectations

Finding the right person for you will take time. This is not something that happens overnight: Just because you decided to commit, doesn't mean your prince or princess charming will jump out of nowhere and sweep you off your feet. It takes work and time.

The most important thing to realize is that even when you find "The one", a healthy relationship is still something you will need to work on every day. Due to the instantaneous nature of the internet, sometimes we expect love will happen quickly when we date online. After all, we have thousands of services at our fingertips, right?

Prepare ourselves for the ups and downs of online dating. While positive thinking is important, you must be realistic about the situation. If you believe you are going to find our "great love" right away and don't, it can lead to disappointment and frustration.

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Unrealistic expectations are the main source of unhappiness in dating and in life. So try to dial down your expectations and just enjoy getting to know interesting people, the rest will fall into place.

2. Remember That Not Everyone Has the Same Goal as You Do

Different people have different goals when online dating. Some people may want a one-night hookup, some may want a friend or companion, and others may want a long-term relationship.

The biggest mistake you can make while online dating is meeting with someone who wants the opposite of what you are looking for. If their profile on Ok Cupid says they are looking for a monogamous relationship and you are looking for a non-exclusive relationship, pass on their profile. It shouldn't matter if you both like "House of Cards" or you think they're super attractive.

If you attempt to date someone who wants something different than you do: You're setting yourself and that relationship, up for failure. People are complicated and dating online can be a daunting game of hide-and-seek for a while until you begin chatting with people who have the same goal as you do.

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Keep your goals in mind, but don't expect everyone will share your vision for the future. If you want to broaden your dating pool, try using one of these unique Tinder alternatives.

3. Do Not Become Obsessed With Your Dating App

When you're focused on finding someone to spend all your time with or chatting with a new person, it is easy to get obsessed with checking your app to see if you have a new message. Sometimes, you can even "check out" of real-life conversations in favor of scrolling through an app.

Don't do this, not only is it rude, but it's unhealthy. If you have an iPhone, try using the screen time option on iOS to limit how much time you spend on your phone and on specific applications.

Trust me, this will be a good thing. You never know, the right person for you may be standing in line behind you at Starbucks and you will actually notice because you aren't distracted by your phone!

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4. Practice Self-Care

Online dating can be emotionally exhausting, especially if you are just wanting to settle down and find the right person but the stars are not aligning. This is why self-care while online dating is so important.

Self-care is different for everyone: It can mean a night of videogames, a bubble bath, a good feed of Taco bell, or a yoga session. Self-care starts with good habits. So even if you are busy, try one of these apps that will help you form healthy habits.

5. Do Not Take It Personally

Sometimes things just don't work out. Sometimes when you are into online dating, you may begin to really like someone and they back off, or show limited interest. It is important that you realize it's probably not about you. Don't take offense if someone decides you aren't their cup of tea.

This isn't just your online dating experience, the other person has to feel "it" too. If they don't, do not beat yourself up, and do not waste your time trying to analyze why.

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Your time is valuable, don't waste it.

6. Do Not Engage With Harassers and "Creepers"

We have all heard the stories about creeps, perverts, and trolls on dating sites and apps. Some of us have even experienced the "pleasure" of being messaged by someone like this.

The best way to deal with these types of people is to disengage. If you ignore the message or block the person, they will have no choice but to move on to someone else.

What if you're not the type of person to ignore someone trying to communicate with you and you want to let the person know their approach isn't working? Try using Tinder's new option of sending a reaction.

However, if this person's behavior is concerning, be sure to report their profile to the support team of the dating application.

Forget Finding the One and Just Have Fun

This should be fun, not an out-and-out mission to find someone and make them your husband or wife. Dating should be about having a good time, getting to know interesting people, and getting to know yourself.

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The more fun you are having, the more people will be attracted to your energy. So have fun, meet in busy,well-lit locations, and don't put so much pressure on yourself to meet "the one". You can't rush the process as fate may have its own plans.

The 10 Best Free Dating Sites to Help You Find Love

Don't want to use a dating app? Here are the best free dating websites to find your next date or one true love waiting for you.

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About The Author

Amy Cottreau-Moore (1 Articles Published)

Amy is a Social Media Technology Writer with MakeUseOf. She is a military wife and mother from Atlantic Canada who enjoys sculpting, spending time with her husband and daughters, and researching a myriad of topics online!

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