32 Facepalm-worthy Red Flags That Made People Lose Hope On A First Date

Dating can be exciting, but it can also feel like a chore. First dates are especially tricky because you never know how they’ll go. The person sitting across from you could become the love of your life, or they could turn out to be a stalker who ruins your life instead.

Two recent Reddit threads saw people sharing the biggest red flags they’ve noticed on first dates, the ones that made them want to walk out on the spot. Keep reading for the juiciest stories of moments when it became obvious that this person was definitely not ‘the one.’

#1

Image source: Money-Past2409, guyswhoshoot

She was too curious about my investments.

scubaSteve181:

Had the same thing happen to me once. Shortly after asking what I did for a living- “Do you invest in stocks?” “How much money do you have invested?” “Do you have any bitcoins?”
Sorry lady, I’m looking for a partner, not a gold digger who’s only interested in money lol

#2

Image source: Mel_Galcatraz, westend61

Not exactly a date, but he showed up uninvited to an event where I mentioned I was going, then lost his phone in his hoarder car and asked me to call it so he could find it.

skillskil:

That’s a very creative way to get someone’s number…

#3

Image source: Efficient_Apricot616, Sandra Seitamaa

He dropped me home. My dog went to say hello, he kicked her.

CyberBit:

I would’ve immediately swung on that jerk for kicking my dog. Wow that’s insane.

#4

Image source: Global-Cut-605, reddit

The Hinge date who got irrationally angry with me for showing up five minutes late. I had texted him to let him know there was a delay on the Metro. Later in the date, he volunteered that he had anger issues and had punched a hole in his wall because he was angry with the noise his neighbors were making.

NOPE. Bye!

Happy postscript to that terrible story – five months later, I had given up on dating and was focusing on my hobbies and interests. I joined a writers group that was meeting in the cafe next to the restaurant where that terrible date happened. Several new people also joined the writers group that night – including my future husband.

#5

This guy literally said to my face at dinner, “by the end of this date you’ll want to come home with me.” So arrogant. Biggest turn off ever 🚩🚩🚩🙄.

Image source: annabellsociety

#6

Image source: Tiny-Relative5776, GSR-PhotoStudio

Took me to an upscale Steakhouse. When our dinner was served…He picked up his Steak and ate it with his hands! 🤦.

Unumbotte:

Oh, that’s just Derek. We’ve mostly got him to stop biting waiters and wait for the food.

#7

Image source: TechPBMike, Cham Pets Family

Went on a date with a woman who said she was a designer dog breeder… proceeded to tell me that she had a litter of puppies that came out ‘wrong’ that morning, and she got rid of them.

this was 8-9 years ago and I still can’t believe I was told this on a first date.

one of the most horrific things I’ve ever heard from anyone in person, in my entire life.

Meeepyy:

That is defo a reportable crime.

#8

Pressured me to leave the bar and go home with him then slammed his drink down/got very angry/stormed out when I said “I’m good staying here”. He seemed normal before that but clearly was NOT normal. Anyone who has a problem with your boundaries/limits is a huge red flag.

Image source: SilverSusan13

#9

Image source: CanadianExiled, Matt W Newman

Met for a coffee after 3 chats because she said she was better in person. I get there early, she walks up to the table, says my name, I turn to look at her and she says “If you’re not planning to propose in the next 6 months you’re wasting both our time” I said ok and walked out. I felt that was a red flag they probably saw from the international space station.

CraftsyDad:

The great red flag of China.

#10

Image source: scottsuplol, Victoria Romulo

Was getting ready to meet a girl for a date. We were going to a fairly nice restaurant. Average plate would be about 80 bucks a person. She asked if she could also bring her friend along. I immediately canceled.

miraculum_one:

Agree to it, don’t show up, tell them you’re running late and that they should sit down and order food and drinks, then block them.

#11

Image source: lfergy, Brooke Balentine

He told me he considered himself a virgin because he uses condoms when he had intercourse. (??????) I asked the obvious follow up question & he confirmed that he did not think the women he slept with were virgins.

I am not sure how I made it through the rest of the dinner to be honest. It was one of the strangest things I have ever heard someone say, much less on a first date.

SvenBubbleman:

I know someone who tells every girl he dates that he’s a virgin because he prays to god for his virginity back.

#12

Image source: Normal-Cap-6282, Omar Lopez

We went to get some ice cream, found a nice spot to sit down and chat a little bit, her first question was “So, how much money do you make in a year?”.

Chemical-Swing-420:

I know a woman who demands to see financial statements on the first date.
Credit Rating
Pay Statements
Bank Statements
Full Investment Disclosures
401k and Retirement Statements
Like, everything!
…and of course, she is insanely private about her financial life. She pushes all purchases through Apple Pay and a privacy screen protector on her phone. So no one can even figure out what bank she has accounts with.
She legitimately has no idea why people don’t voluntarily give her all these details within 5 minutes of meeting her.
For those wondering, she’s perpetually single.

#13

Image source: hugginv, Getty Images

Didn’t ask me a single question. Just kept talking about his high paying job.

DigNitt:

UGH
I went on a first date with this girl. She just one word answered my open softball questions.
“So you’re a music major, you must play an instrument?”
-yeah oboe
“…cool…you must be pretty into oboe if you’re getting a degree in it.”
-yeah I played in high school
“….well, …you know I play a bit of piano, I used to teach it.”
-cool
“Yeah…uh, probably not at the college level, music wise, like you are…”
-yeah probably
ON and ON this went. The whole time. Got home and just figured there’s no connection there. The next day, I thought “you know, I’ve been on a first date before, I’ve been nervous, maybe one date isn’t a great litmus test.” So I text her, “hey had a good time last night. Want to grab a drink tomorrow?”
And she texted back “that’s okay, not sure we have a great connection. And FYI, don’t spend the whole first date doing all the talking next time.”
I literally aimed my phone at the wall to throw it, then just calmly set it down.

#14

Image source: notagoodtexan, Lau Baldo

She told me how loyal she was by explaining how she’d helped facilitate her best friend cheating on her husband for over a year.

thelaidbckone:

I actually got a version of this once
She told me 2 of her friends were in a relationship and one of them was cheating…but bc the one cheating was the one she knew longer, she didn’t say anything

#15

Sucking water and hold it in the straw then bring it out of the cup, aim it directly at me and blow it straight at me at the restaurant. This was the first date and last.

Image source: tallproducer

#16

Image source: FeistySquash8309, Julia Michelle

Met a guy at a pizza place. His friends were there too (I didn’t know they were going to be there) which was weird, but they sat at another table. They proceeded to eat leftover pizza from empty tables. I learned they were all there together because they were on a day pass from a halfway house and got dropped off in a van. 😳

#17

Image source: kaichai444, Yunus Tuğ

Before I met my fiancé I went on a date with someone I met at the gym. He struck me as outgoing and artsy and the fact he was disciplined enough to go to the gym regularly was what kinda threw me for a loop regarding how the date went down.

He showed up 20 minutes late, and proceeded to say he did it on purpose to “build the tension”. I am a big believer in respecting people’s time and showing up on the dot— it’s really not that hard. Later on we began to discuss our careers and aspirations, when I told him I’m a graphic designer working in the tech field (my role is a mishmash of design and web development), he scoffed and said that’s not actually a real job and I would lose it to ai in the next five years. Super cool he said that and I’m sure he didn’t feel threatened by my successes in any way. His job? Director of internal expansions at a marketing agency. I already knew where this was going so I asked him to elaborate— “well, I was hired on a few months ago and already made it to the director level, my task is to recruit people in the hopes of them opening their own marketing agency affiliated with my company”. It was a MLM. He worked for a MLM scheme. I didn’t walk out or anything but I switched gym locations not even a week later.

I’m reading this back and realizing that I’m pretty lucky this has been my ‘worst of the worst’. I heard it’s brutal out there.

Healthy-Garlic364:

Don’t you just silently laugh at how MLM members try to make their situation sound so exciting and successful? All a ploy to reel you in.

#18

Image source: Nigel-Troven, Yunus Tuğ

They kept checking their phone the entire time but then got genuinely offended when I glanced at mine once. The double standard was wild.

letsmakeart:

I went on a date once and one of my very, very good friends was in labour at the same time. As soon as I got to the date, I told the guy I might glance at my phone occasionally for updates because my friend was in labour. He went to the bathroom and I took my phone out while he was gone and saw that my friend had texted me a photo and info that the baby was born and doing great. The guy came back and said “you’re that bored huh?” and gestured to my phone. Very weird behaviour !!!!

#19

Image source: featherspin_11, Alyssa Jane

Rude to the staff. Instant no.

Wedgerooka:

I bet you’ll say something about not returning carts next.

#20

Image source: roskybosky, Vitaliy Shevchenko

He talked about the second coming of Christ (I’m an atheist) he said he was looking for a wife, and when the bill came it was 11 dollars and he said, “Tell you what, I’ll get it this time, and you can get it next time.”

I felt like I was on an episode of Seinfeld.

LikeMike1984:

Soup isn’t a meal.

#21

She told me her father was In the special forces and if I “hurt” her he would end me.

To be clear, this was in the middle of the restaurant, we had been there maybe 15 minutes and it was a random interjection out of nowhere that had nothing to do with the, up until that point, very pleasant and polite conversation we were having about surfing, windsurfing and other watersports.

The second red flag was back at her place and she had a collection of dozens of knives that she said she kept for intruders, and had a pet tarantula and snake, which she also threatened me with.

Image source: KawazakiMotorcycle

#22

Image source: Bigpinkpanther3, Natalia Blauth

They asked me if I was “one of them women’s libbers.” Sigh.

Pandaburn:

“Women’s lib” meaning liberation.

unrepentantgeraldine:

Were you dating a time traveller from 1943?

#23

Image source: Din4d4n, wayhomestudioo

Went to a restaurant. As soon as we sat down, she pulled out the report of her past stay in a psychiatric clinic.

Unumbotte:

Sigh, people say they hate small talk, but do they like it when you try to provide stimulating source materials for the conversation? Nooooo.
You probably don’t want to see my colonoscopy video either. Apparently that’s not what’s meant by “movie night.”

#24

Do NOT bring your kid to the date!

I met someone online and his profile mentioned “no kids” and he never brought up the kid the entire time we talked (2 weeks). Had our first date and as I’m walking up to the door, he calls me and says “you look pretty! I’ll be right there, I had to change my son in the car.”

Absolutely NOT! Ran to my car, drove off, and blocked him. It’s not fair to interview someone to be step mom when they had no idea it was an interview. And how disrespectful to the bio mom! Just ultimate red flag to me.

Image source: Chuck2025

#25

Image source: orianauf, Kateryna Hliznitsova

As a woman, a big red flag is when someone talks badly about everyone in their life on the first date. It usually shows a lack of accountability and awareness.

Michael_Stevens-:

Yeah, anyone who badmouths people around them that early is showing way too much baggage. Hard pass.

#26

Showed up drunk.. I ended the date immediately.. then block and deleted..

Image source: wastingtoomuchthyme

#27

She got super drunk and put it on a tab for me, got furious, tried to punch me, fell down some stairs then was so confused told the police I might have pushed her. Fun night in police custody while we got the CCTV, not the best first date ever tbh.

Image source: Hashtagbarkeep

#28

Image source: FizzlePopBerryTwist, valeriygoncharukphoto

“Oh yeah that photo is old and I’m older than I said and I hid the fact I have 2 kids…”.

Cltspur:

Yeah the worst red flag I ever got was finding a C-section scar from a woman who said she didn’t have kids. Oh, and she used a fake name. Oh, and she lied about her age by 7 years. Oh, and then she stalked me for 4 months. Fun times…

#29

We scheduled to meet at a coffee place that was very near where he lived, but a half hour drive for me. I arrived early and the location was mobbed by a huge running group that had just arrived, line would be better part of an hour to get a coffee. There are still nice spots to sit outside on the garden wall, so I text to tell him the shop is mobbed so I couldn’t get a coffee but am seated here, and he arrives with a coffee from home FOR HIMSELF and nothing for me. Doesn’t even notice how rude that is as he sits down next to me while I have nothing, and remarks “thanks for letting me know so I could bring my coffee!” And I was like uhm, yeah, glad I drove a half hour for this.

Image source: OceanParkNo16

#30

Image source: Repulsive-Isopod3045, Christin Hume

Lied about his height which in and of itself wouldn’t have been a huge deal if he’d just been honest. Proceeded to demand a foot massage because he’d been working (so had I and this is the first time we’ve met, bro), had me pay for all of dinner, then proceeded to try to sleep with me after I explicitly said I would not be doing so.

#31

I ended up matching on tinder with an old friend’s sister who I had never actually met. Date was going pretty well and we were kind of vibing until she told me:

“I used to do coke a lot but now I only do it occasionally. Like 3 or 4 times a month.”

Soooo…every weekend?

Image source: spoothead656