The worst first dates ever revealed

"He pulls out a folder and says: ‘This is my tax return from last year. would you mind taking a look at it?’"

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First dates can be tough.

Plagued by awkward silences, rogue drink orders and cumbersome end-of-the-night fumblings, it’s seldom a recipe for instant romance.

Hence why frustrated singletons and daters alike have shared their horror stories on Reddit, possibly as a means of cathartic expression.

From turning up and realising that the person you’re with isn’t even single to ending the night being chased in the woods by a dog, the anecdotes are enough to put you off dating for a while, or at least until your next Tinder match.

It seems that some people may have conflated the concept of a date with a business meeting.

One person recalled how their date asked for advice on how to complete their tax return, while another remembers one man who “fired questions at me like it was a job interview” in a date that lasted just half an hour - time is money, people.

“Over dinner, I remember being asked what my job was, if I ever had been arrested, how was my credit, and how many ‘partners’ I had in my life,” added another user.

“She was angry that I didn't want to go out with her again and I ended up having to block her number.”

Another remembers being set-up on a date by a mutual friend:

“She was cute, funny, smart, everything you hope for in a blind first date,” they wrote.

“After spending a good part of the day with her, we end up at this frozen yoghurt spot.

“We talk for a bit and she mentions how much fun she had today. Then she says how much her boyfriend would like this spot and that we should all hang out next week. Never asked that friend to set me up ever again.”

Other common tropes from the anecdotes include those who simply couldn’t get a word in edgewise - “he never asked me a single question about myself” - to being superseded by someone’s smartphone at the cinema: “Whole movie she played with her phone”.

Some lamented the paucity of conversation, however, a few sound like they simply took a turn for the downright bizarre:

“Ended up being chased by her cousins and their dog through the woods while trying to get my jeans back on.”

Who said romance was dead?