It was a match (Picture: Eve Smallman)
I never believed in the magic of dating apps, until I saw Sam step off the tram.
The phrase ‘love at first sight’ is such a cliché, but when our eyes locked, my heart landed straight in my throat.
We met in late July 2020 – just as the first Covid lockdown was lifted, and we were all able to see people once again.
During that lockdown, I’d broken up with my ex. We were together for three years and met at university, but we both agreed that the post-uni long distance (me in Nottingham, him in Surrey) wasn’t going to work.
Being both bored and curious about living the single life after so long, I decided to give dating apps a go for the first time. I’d met my previous boyfriends in person, so I’d never needed to use them before.
But hey, what else was a girl with time on her hands to do?
I downloaded Bumble in June 2020 – a dating app where the girl has to make the first move in the first 24 hours. For a few weeks, I swiped and swiped, striking up the odd conversation before losing interest.
Over the summer we saw each other most weekends (Picture: Eve Smallman)
One day, I came across a very good-looking guy.
Just a couple of pictures – a selfie and one with his cute dog – and no description. This was usually a red flag for me, so my finger hovered over the left-hand side of my screen.
Then, I looked at his dazzling green eyes, and my gut instinct told me to swipe the other way.
It was a match.
We messaged non-stop for weeks – big paragraphs filled with every piece of information, every question we wanted to know. Even from typing alone, I knew we had a chemistry that I’d never experienced before.
There was a moment when he told me that he was ‘lactose intolerant’ (translating to him not liking cheese). As a huge cheese fan, I wasn’t sure if I could be with someone that hated it. But I was soon amazed that I was able to overlook this, thanks to our long chats and shared sense of humour. This made me realise that he was someone special.
I was spending lockdown at my family home in Lichfield, but I travelled back to Nottingham as soon as the rules were lifted.
I decided to give dating apps a go for the first time (Picture: Eve Smallman)
We agreed to meet up for a casual midday coffee.
After he’d got off the tram and we walked down to my favourite coffee shop, I was so nervous.
Thankfully, those butterflies flew away as soon as we started chatting. We went through the usual small talk questions of how we found lockdown, what our hobbies were, and our plans for the summer.
Then, he reached across the table and brushed a ‘fly’ out of my hair. I don’t believe that there was really anything in there, but his smooth moves totally worked. My heart completely melted and I was aching for him to reach over the table again.
Our date quickly turned into a whole day of walking around different bars and cafes – anywhere we could grab a seat and talk. By the time the date was finished, it was past 10pm.
Sam walked me back to my house, we exchanged a hug, and… let’s just say that we were outside my door for a good 10 minutes.
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When I made it back into my house, I got halfway up the stairs before my legs completely gave way, and I had to sit down from the sheer adrenaline.
I called my best friend (who I’d sent a picture of Sam to, just in case anything happened) and told her it was the best date I had ever been on. He texted me straight away and told me he wished it hadn’t been a Sunday, as otherwise he would have come inside.
Over the summer we saw each other most weekends – bright summer days of walks and pubs, evenings of cosy dinners and late-night talks.
It was heavenly.
I never knew you could fall in love so quickly – and honestly, I was terrified. Was it really this good? Had I found my perfect match from my first dating app date?
Having recently come out of a relationship – albeit one I hadn’t been invested in for a while – I wasn’t sure if I was jumping into things too quickly. That was what my head was telling me, anyway.
My heart knew otherwise.
Before I could test my questions properly, the second wave of lockdowns hit just four months after we first met in person.
Our date quickly turned into a whole day of walking (Picture: Eve Smallman)
We were 40 minutes apart, but we couldn’t see each other for five months.
Throughout all of this, we both put in an enormous amount of effort to make our relationship work – we felt the same way about each other.
We had endless phone calls, well-timed TV shows, parcels through the post.
After lockdown finally lifted, we met back up again in April 2021. But once again, I was on edge.
Although we had spent countless hours talking, I was worried that the spark might not reignite in person.
But Sam got off the tram, at the same Lace Market tram stop as our first date. We locked eyes and my stomach flipped.
As it was in the evening, we decided to grab a takeout, as restaurants still weren’t fully open then.
The conversation was a little awkward at first – we put it down to not seeing each other in so long. But that ice soon melted and when we grabbed our takeout order, he tentatively put his arm around my shoulder.
I was home.
Our friends and family did question if it was too soon (Picture: Eve Smallman)
Having spent five months apart, we decided that we didn’t want to spend that long away from each other again. The conversation of moving in together came up, and we were both all in. Our friends and family did question if it was too soon – but we knew better.
Funnily enough, the house we found was just a street away from my previous rental.
Fate, right?
When we stepped in for the viewing, we looked at each other and knew it was the right place. The letting agent told us we were the first in there, as the previous viewers hadn’t shown.
As soon as we left, we raced back to mine to fill in the form and in August 2021, we were given the keys.
Two years later, we’re still here.
We love our little rental and spend most of our days laughing and chatting. Sure, at times it has been challenging – but the beauty of being together and getting to know each other better every day has always outshone any difficulties.
If you think you won’t find love using a dating app, think again – I’m proof that you don’t have to use it forever, in order to find your forever person.
So, How Did It Go?
So, How Did It Go? is a weekly Metro.co.uk series that will make you cringe with second-hand embarrassment or ooze with jealousy as people share their worst and best date stories.
Want to spill the beans about your own awkward encounter or love story? Contact [email protected]
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The phrase ‘love at first sight’ is such a cliché, but when our eyes locked, my heart landed straight in my throat.