Dating Disasters: ‘He turned out to be not only handsome and gallant but also incredibly stupid’

In Dating Disasters, anonymous readers share their most embarrassing, cringeworthy, and dramatic dates. This week: the generous giver.

I met Steven through Tinder. It was starting to get cold and I was desperately looking for some warmth and company around me. I could never have predicted that I would receive that company in a very different form later on.

Steven didn't beat around the bush: he wanted to meet right away and I agreed. I had been single for three years by then and somewhere I hoped that this would be my dream man. When I saw him for the first time, my heart skipped a beat with joy. He turned out to be everything I had ever wished for and more. He was handsome, gallant, and quickly made me feel like I was the most beautiful woman on earth. Comments like ‘where have you been my whole life’ and ‘I really think you are the one for me’ I swallowed like sweet cake.

Unbeknownst and madly in love, we rolled into the holidays together. This would undoubtedly be a Christmas to remember. In the category ‘be careful what you wish for’, it turned out to be true, but not in the way I had hoped.

A week before Christmas, he surprised me with an expensive advent calendar from a luxury beauty brand, wrapped in a beautiful box. At the fact that this was really a very expensive gift for him, I didn't stop to think at that moment. Screaming with happiness, I opened the box when a receipt fell out. My happiness quickly made way for a strange gut feeling. The receipt stated that he had bought three of those calendars. He had once confided in me that he had poor contact with his family and as far as I knew, there were no female friends in his life. He didn't flinch and said it must have been a mistake by the sender.

I discovered that this was a lie a few days later. We were lying in bed together when a message came in on his phone from a woman I didn't know. My heart sank when I read the words ‘thank you so much for the calendar again!’, followed by a number of hearts. What? Who was this and why did she receive exactly the same gift as I did?

I decided not to say anything until I couldn't reach him that evening. Call me crazy, but something inside me told me to drive to his house like a spear. Something was off here and although my female intuition had never let me down, I hoped in vain that this time I was wrong. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Steven turned out to be not only handsome and gallant but also incredibly stupid, as I found him with all the lights on and all the curtains open on the couch with another woman. As if he wanted to be caught. In a fit of madness, I stormed in through the back door. For a moment, we all stared at each other until I saw something on the table that I recognized all too well: the third advent calendar. I exploded with anger, sadness, and disbelief. How could this man have deceived me like this? The woman on the couch clearly had no idea who I was and judging by her reaction, she was also under the impression that she was the only one for him.

Some angry words were exchanged, but I quickly realized that I wanted to be anywhere but in his house. Fortunately, the woman on the couch felt the same way and together we stormed out less than ten minutes later (she with her advent calendar under her arm). I find it hilarious that she was clear-headed enough to think of her calendar at that moment.

Over a glass of wine, we later exchanged stories, still completely stunned by the whole situation. It turned out that Steven had been stringing us both along for months and had sent us exactly the same messages at exactly the same time. We both couldn't believe we had fallen for it. Steven, in turn, tried to patch things up by sending us identical messages again, but we didn't respond anymore. Unfortunately, we never managed to find out who the other girl was, but I hope she has also left him by now.

In any case, I gained a very good friend with whom I can now, years later, happily laugh about this bizarre story. And Steven? He is probably still paying off all the advent calendars.

Would you like to share your Dating Disasters with us too? Nice! Send an email to info@amayzine.com and you might read your story here soon.