I was sick of dating British men so I flew to Spain for £250 to test-drive their blokes – and the outcome was surprising
A SINGLETON claims that dating in London has become ‘so bad’ that she felt compelled to ‘go international’ – forking out £250 to fly to Spain to try one of their blokes.
Celeste Hartley admits she was so fed up with the ‘bleak’ dating scene in London that she spontaneously decided to fly to Malaga, Spain, on Friday 19 April to meet a man she matched with on Hinge.
The 28-year-old had a ‘surreal’ weekend of romance for a first date with a 28-year-old from Malaga, and swears it has given her ‘hope for mankind’ in the dating world.
Taking to TikTok to document her crazy experience, Celeste shared a video of her at the airport captioned, ‘when London dating is so bad you have to go international’, which has now gained 235,000 views.
In the clip you can hear Celeste telling her followers ‘regardless of whatever happens between me and said man, it is worth it for how exciting this whole thing has been so far’.
A follow-up post reveals a compilation of photos from the short break, including a trip to a tattoo parlour so they could both get tattoos, sight-seeing and lots of food.
Many users praised Celeste in the comments as ‘life is about adventure’ and said they were ‘invested’ in her decision.
Other users criticised Celeste for spending ‘too much money’ on a first date.
The marketing and consultancy business owner revealed that after matching with the Spanish man, the pair instantly hit it off with ‘very good conversation’ and Celeste swiftly agreed to fly out to visit him during a phone call.
Celeste, who lives in Brixton, said: “I saw him on my explore page but I didn’t like him. He sent me a funny message and we quite quickly got into a very good conversation.
“He was asking me a lot of questions. I’m quite bad at replying on there, which is sort of feeding into the problem. It got quite in-depth conversation quite quickly.
“We decided to meet in Malaga, which is kind of near where he lives but we wanted to have a neutral ground.
“I was happy to do it for the adventure and because I am pretty sick of London. I’m always looking for a reason to get out. Plus, if anything, I would get a nice holiday out of it.
“I thought ‘even if this doesn’t go well, it’s worth it for how exciting the build up has been’.
“There wasn’t any point that I thought he would be anyone he wasn’t. But I did have people on standby if things did go pear-shaped. I told a lot of people about it and they said ‘this is so you’.”
The 28-year-old admits that flying to Spain for a first date ‘wasn’t the most normal situation’ but claims her impulsive decision ‘is what life’s about’ and justified the £250 plane ticket.
Five red flags - you're dating a narcissistic
Narcissistic behaviour can be hard to spot, especially when dating because naturally you want to see the best in your potential life partner. However, there are narcissistic traits that are key indicators for you to consider when getting to know someone new. Here are five red flags to look out for:
- Strong sense of entitlement
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- Arrogance
After speaking regularly on the phone before the trip, the singleton, who admits she has a ‘tendency to over-romanticise everything’ was thrilled to discover sparks flew during the 48-hour date.
Celeste said: “I was really nervous but also excited. I have a tendency to over romanticise everything. You start to build an idea of that person in your head.
“I met him at the airport and it was the most surreal experience ever. We spent the weekend together just walking around and chatting. It definitely wasn’t the most normal situation.
“It was a lot of time to spend with one person but he went out of his way to make me feel very, very comfortable. He paid for where we stayed and was very generous.
“It felt like that’s what life’s about – doing exciting things and taking risks. Fortunately for me, it did go well.”
Having been single for nearly six years, Celeste admitted she is ‘sick’ of London’s ‘disposable’ romance culture and has become frustrated with the ‘surface level’ nature of dating apps which has prevented her from finding a partner.
Celeste said: “I was just sick of it. I was always sitting on the edge and waiting for someone to let me down.
“I’ve gone through stages of wanting to put myself out there and then becoming burned out by it and taking a six-month break. I was struggling to find someone that aligned with my values.
“Because dating apps are such a thing now there’s always so many other options out there so people are just chasing this dream of perfection.
“When they don’t find it they will just keep jumping from person to person, rather than actually taking the time to get to know someone. It becomes really surface level.
“In London specifically, everyone is so caught up in the rat race and focused on jumping through all the hoops such as finding a partner, settling down etc that no one actually knows what they want or what their values are.
“Dating ends up becoming very transactional rather than actually getting to know the other person.
“London dating is a process of validation rather than true connection. It is so disposable, and it’s hard to trust people’s motives. It’s bleak out there.
Celeste Hartley
“I think London dating specifically is so bad. So anywhere outside of London I think, go for it. There is hope for mankind.”
The singleton revealed her Spanish getaway went so well that she has now deleted Hinge and he has recently returned the favour and visited her in London for a weekend.
Celeste said: “We’ve decided to make the whole ‘across country’ situation work.”
Many users praised Celeste for her adventurous way of dating.
One user said: “Have fun. Life is about adventure.”
Another user said: “I flew to Turkey last week and did the same and it was the best decision.”
A third user said: “Good on you.”
A fourth user said: “Invested.”
However, some users criticised Celeste for the lengths she went to for a first date.
One user said: “Too much money to spend on a first date.”
Another user said: “It is already a red flag if he doesn’t come to you first.”
