Photo by Rhiannon Gilbert / Managing Editor
Tinder, the popular dating app for college students, is designed to help you find your perfect match, one swipe at a time. But what happens when your newfound romantic interest that swept you off your feet ends up being a total creep and having them wish they used something like tinder select by cheater buster before they accepted their dates?
Students share their Tinder mishaps and horror stories below.
“I gave my phone number to this guy that seemed harmless – his picture was blurry, but we had a mutual friend. I invited him to my apartment to hang out – middle of the day, in living room, nothing weird. I didn’t know many people in Murfreesboro and didn’t have a car when I was 19 to get around. I jumped the gun on meeting this guy. His picture was apparently from high school, because he showed up, covered in really bad tattoos – he told me his buddies did them for him – the word “Fear” was tattooed in cursive on the side of his neck and car grease was covering him from head to toe. I’m pretty sure it was in his teeth, too. He was filthy and smelled like a wet dog. He walked into my apartment and plopped on the couch, tracking grease all over the couch. I didn’t know what to do and he wouldn’t stop talking; his country accent was so thick I could only decipher “Get some beers” and “chill.” I panicked and faked an emergency about my roommate, – she was out with her friends and left her car at the apartment – grabbed her car keys and yelled at him that I needed to go because her life was in danger. I ended up driving her car around a parking lot until I saw him leave the complex.” – Clarissa, Senior Journalism major
“We met at a Starbucks and she seemed super cool at first. She was wearing this old Metallica shirt, and she wasn’t bad looking either, so I was kind of excited for that. We were just talking about where we went to high school and stuff – you know, just normal conversation. That is when she just randomly asked how many kids I wanted and reached for my hand. I said, ‘Uhh, I don’t know. What about you?’ She replied with, ‘I want three, two girls and one boy. I want the boy to have blonde hair and blue eyes and to play baseball.’ I was like, ‘Oh wow! That is awesome how you have everything planned out.’ So I had a friend call me and act like something was wrong so I could get out of there.” – Tristan, Freshman Music Business major
“I matched with a girl when I first moved here two years ago who still slides into my instagram dm, asking to take me out for coffee.” – Daniel, Senior Aerospace major.
“Over the break, I went back home to Memphis, and this guy I went to high school with matches me on Tinder. After talking for a little bit, he asks to hang out. Keep in mind that while I’m in Memphis, I’m usually pretty bored. So, I agreed to come over to his house. Big mistake. I should have known what I was walking into, but I actually thought we would watch a movie. Once I get there, I realize he still lives with his parents so when I walk in, I’m already meeting the family. He introduces me to his parents, and I attempt to make small talk with them. At this point, I’m already regretting this decision but decided I’ll stay for one movie then leave. Once we get upstairs, he sits down in a recliner, so I was going to sit on the couch, but he grabs me and pulls me on top of him. So here I am, saddling this kid I haven’t talked to in two years while he is trying to make out with me while I can hear his parents downstairs talking about what they had for dinner. Let’s talk about how terrible of a kisser he was – literally the worst kiss I’ve ever experienced. We hit teeth probably at least 15 times, and the worst thing is he was acting like he was enjoying it. I kept pulling away and trying to watch the movie, but he was determined to kiss me. Finally, I told him that I wasn’t comfortable, and he suggested we sit on the floor. Now I’m checking my watch trying to see if it’s an acceptable time to leave. But I decide that nothing worse can happen – another mistake. This boy starts to spoon me on the floor – let me point out that his parents are now on a new topic of what happened at work today. So, yes, I can still hear them. Now I’m thinking, ‘Finally, I can just lay here and watch this movie.’ Wrong. He begins to blow on my back. At first, I let it slide and didn’t say anything, but the fifth time I had to put a stop to it. I say in a nervous tone, ‘Uhh whatcha doing?’ And he answers with, ‘Ha, just having some fun.’ Now the movie is ending, and I’m praising the Lord above because I can go home. He jumps up before the credits even start to roll, and he’s already picked another movie and is settling back down behind me on the floor before I can even sit up, let alone say I’m ready to go. The movie that he starts to play is none other than “Kung Fu Panda” – yes, the children’s movie. I think, ‘Oh my God. No. I’m leaving.’ I get up and he asks what I’m doing, and I tell him I have to go. He asks, ‘Already?’ and I insisted I have to go. He finally walks me out. After I leave – it hasn’t even been two minutes – he’s already texted me and told me how great of a night he had. I decided it was best to not give him any hope and just simply not respond. I haven’t heard from him since.” – Rachel, Junior Criminal Justice major
“I matched with this guy on Tinder called Sam and we hit it off brilliantly. The only thing that was wrong about him was that his texts weren’t in very good English. I gave him my number and we arranged to meet up on a date but before I went I used a reverse phone lookup service and the name that came up wasn’t Sam, it was a completely different person. I’m glad I looked him up otherwise I would have been catfished!” – Emma, Junior Nursing major
“Long story short, I matched with this guy on Tinder named Ross. One night, he came to my apartment to play Cards Against Humanity with my roommate Lesley and me. Our friend Caitlin came over and joined. Later that month, he asked me on a date. We went to dinner and then to Lover’s Circle and walked around Centennial Park. We agreed to go out again, but I’m flaky, so it never happened. About a month later, Caitlin texted me and asked if it would be okay if she went out with him. I told her sure, and so she did. I didn’t talk to her for awhile and when we finally did, I asked her about the date and everything was the exact same except dinner. It wouldn’t have been that crazy except he knows she and I were good friends. A few months after that, he texted me and tried to get me to go out with him again, but of course I said no. He did the same thing with Caitlin, too.” – Meghan, Junior Liberal Studies major
“I’ve never actually met up with someone from Tinder, but I had this guy who seemed totally normal text me the weirdest things. He said I’d look super hot in Minnie Mouse ears, but especially if I was naked.” – Laine, Junior Nursing major
“I matched with this girl on tinder who clearly has her own plans of exactly how this was going to go. So in my bio I had already been very specific that I just wanted a hookup and not a serious relationship to develop from this. So this girl matches with me and already I’m hooked just on looks alone, then we talk for a bit and we get on pretty well. Looking back, I should’ve suspected how she was talking she wanted more out of me than I was willing to give. So she arrives at mine and then asks what I had planned, so naturally I was thinking ‘what? does she not remember that I just want to hookup or is she just not very good with the sexy talk?’. So I hit her back with a line, suggesting I’d like to get straight down to the fun stuff. But she comes out with ‘I think we should wait, I don’t want to rush things’, ok so now I’m confused as to whether she actually does want a hookup or not and decide to be blunt and just ask. Then she came back with an answer I didn’t expect saying ‘oh yeah, I saw that you just wanted a hookup but I didn’t want you to go to waste so I thought I’d show you it’d be better to wait and then you can be with me. Besides, you’re not gonna find anyone better on tinder anyway’. Ok, so I’m properly stunned but I have no idea how to get out of this, I had made it clear that I had all day free to do as we wanted and couldn’t think of an excuse to get her to just leave. In the end I just ended up awkwardly spending a few hours with her watching a film and being talked at about how we would be good together etc. Needless to say, I blocked her afterward, and thankfully haven’t spoken to her since. Next time I think I’ll just use a free local fuck app or something to make sure there’s no confusion like this again.” – John, Music major
“I met this guy on Tinder, and in all his pictures he looked to be my age – his page said he was 23. We talked for awhile, and he said he had just graduated recently and was looking for work. We ended up going out for drinks after talking a bit. On my way there, I called my best friend and talked to him the whole way there, because this was my first date since dating my ex over two years ago. So, I get up to the restaurant and walk up, and I see this guy sitting near the door. From afar, it looked like the guy from Tinder, but as I got closer and closer this dude looked like he could be my dad. As I kept getting closer, he stood up and walked to meet me, and I about turned around and left. The guy, Trevor, had legit wrinkles on his forehead and was way less attractive in person. We went inside, and it was the most awkward date I’ve ever had. He had four cats and hadn’t dated anyone in years. I was mortified. And he didn’t want to let me go once I finished my drink. He kept trying to get me to order more, and I finally just said I had to leave. Oh, I forgot to mention – when I first sat down, he told me that I needed a code word to text my friends in case he kidnapped me. He actually said that! He said that I needed to watch my phone so I didn’t miss any calls from them in case he f—–g kidnapped me. Who says that? I don’t know why I didn’t leave then. Afterwards, we walk to our cars – I walked up to one that wasn’t mine so he didn’t know what I drove – and he tried to kiss me. I backed up and was like, ‘Hell no, I’m good.’ He asked for my number, and I panicked and couldn’t think of a fake number so I gave him mine. He texted me when he got home and asked if I had told my friends about how bad our date was. I blocked his number, but forgot about being matched on Tinder. He messaged me through there, too, and asked. I blocked him there, too. So he made a Grindr and messaged me on there. I blocked him again. Boy makes another Grindr and messaged again, so I blocked him again. He does the same thing and finds me on Facebook and Instagram and messaged me there, too! I finally messaged him on Instagram and told him if he did this again I was calling the police, and he backed off. I will never go on a Tinder date again until I know for sure how old the guy is for a fact.” – Davis, Sophomore Political Science major
For more news, follow us at www.mtsusidelines.com, on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines and on Twitter at @Sidelines_News.
To contact News Editor Brinley Hineman, email [email protected].
