WHAT’S the pettiest reason you chose not to date someone, or didn’t go on a second date? Let’s face it, we’re all a little bit superficial sometimes, and may dislike someone’s fashion choices, a particular hobby or interest, or even their taste in music. And while focusing on such trivial issues might lead to missed opportunities for meaningful connections based on more substantial qualities, for the people below they didn’t care one bit, and cut the relationships short before they began.

Kiara, 25:

Dude seemed like a nice enough guy on the phone but I’m not really a phone person so we switched to texting. But I couldn’t get over the language, no matter how hard I tried. He used “your” instead of “you’re”, and “am” instead of “I’m”, and “there” for “their”. The worst was the text talk though, and this was a big, 30-year-old man. Every morning I’d wake up to WYUT (what you up to) and foolishness like him using “innit” at the end of every sentence. And I got tired of Googling so I just told him he needed evening classes, and to link me when he was done with his Hooked on Phonics course.

Makenna, 31:

I like a certain type of music, but I don’t force it down anyone’s throat, and I also appreciate that other people have different tastes. I told this new guy I liked Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan, and also Arctic Monkeys but he said those weren’t his style, which was perfectly cool with me. He said I should stop listening to that stuff and that once I heard his music, I’d convert. Then he put on Ginuwine, and Usher and Joe. He said those were his kind of tunes, and “not basic, white people music”. Like his choices weren’t from the most basic genre, ever.

Shannon, 35:

Valentine’s Day was our first date, and when he picked me up he was in red and white from head to toe. I was crying inwardly, but forgave the faux pas because of the day’s symbolism. Second date was an ordinary evening, and I’d invited him to a work event, which was semi-formal (think law firm-boring dress code). Man turned up in lime green, like he was attending a JLP conference. I just couldn’t do it after that because why would you, as a man, have those kinds of colours in your closet anyway?

Clive, 38:

My aunt had died and she said she would come to the funeral to show me support. We had just started dating so it wasn’t expected of her, but I said okay. She turned up in the shortest dress, and just generally made a spectacle of herself. While that would have probably been okay in another setting, my folks are Anglican so it was super embarrassing when she came and put her hand through mine, looking like she was auditioning for
Pretty Woman.

Antonio, 40:

During our first date we were talking about every and anything, and while eating she bit down too hard on a bone or something and said she felt like she chipped a tooth. I apologised, told her that my dentist was excellent, and I could call and get her an appointment the next day. She said no, she was afraid of dentists and hadn’t gone since she was a little girl. I never bothered to say anything else because poor hygiene is a no-no for me.