Single women are exposing the most bizarre, awkward, and unexpectedly hostile texts they have received from men after first dates - and many say the screenshots perfectly capture the exhausting reality of modern dating.
New York-based content creator Victoria recently asked women on Instagram to share the 'unhinged' messages they had received after rejecting men or deciding not to pursue a second date. What followed was a flood of screenshots ranging from passive-aggressive guilt trips to outright strange attempts at flirting.
In one exchange, a woman politely told a man she did not feel a romantic connection. 'To be honest with you, I don't think I felt much of a connection so I wouldn't want to waste your time. Thanks for asking though! I wish you good luck with everything,' she wrote. The man initially appeared calm before quickly turning bitter. 'Yes, I think the whole thing with the check was kind of a red flag with me. That's okay, good luck to you. You're not an honest person. But that was cute,' he replied. He then added: 'Maybe you just needed the money. Why didn't you pay for the meal then?'
Another woman sent a 'polite' text to her date after noticing there was no spark between them - only to block him following his savage response. 'Hey good morning, yeah sorry, I don't think I'm as interested. I wish you well though, and it has been nice chatting with you,' she said. 'This is probably why you're single lol good luck with those issues,' the man replied. However, his message didn't end there. 'I'm out,' he continued. 'Your fingernails creep me out.'
One woman shared a text she received after simply sending a photo of herself relaxing poolside with an Aperol. 'Please don't be an [Instagram] food wh**e,' the man replied. 'I do not want to see your camera roll.'
Another exchange left viewers particularly uncomfortable after a man abruptly asked a woman whether she wanted to marry 'a white guy'. 'I won't cheat on you,' he added. When the woman awkwardly responded that race was not 'the deciding factor', the conversation quickly spiralled into questions about her height. 'Tiny,' he replied after learning she was 5'4'.
But the most confronting messages centred around rejection and resentment. In one lengthy exchange, a man became angry after a woman implied she had previous casual dating experience. 'I wanted [something] long-term but then you mentioned [sleeping] around with these random men and it made me realise I'm missing out,' he wrote. He then launched into a rant about how dating is supposedly easier for women. 'It's easy for you as a woman to get sex anywhere,' he said. 'For men it's like five times more challenging.'
The screenshots quickly resonated with women online, many of whom said the messages reflected a wider problem around how some men respond to rejection. 'Thank you for the reminder that I am okay being single,' one woman commented. 'Sometimes it's okay to ghost men. Honest communication doesn't always work,' another wrote. 'This is my sign to stay single,' one added.
Others said the experiences had fundamentally changed how they reject people online. 'After I send a text politely letting them know I'm no longer interested, I immediately block,' one commenter admitted. 'Almost every time I get some mean emotional text back and I don't feel like dealing with it. It happened so many times before I decided to just go the blocking route.'
While many of the exchanges were undeniably absurd, the conversation also tapped into a deeper frustration surrounding modern app-based dating culture. For many women, the emotional toll of dating no longer comes from the dates themselves but from managing reactions afterwards - carefully wording rejections, softening language, and anticipating potential hostility. At the same time, many men have admitted that dating apps have intensified feelings of rejection, insecurity, and competition, particularly as online dating increasingly reduces attraction to fast judgements. The result is a dating culture where both sides often feel exhausted for very different reasons.
Still, many women said the screenshots ultimately reinforced one thing above all else: staying single can sometimes feel significantly more peaceful. 'Stay home ladies in your clean sweet-smelling spaces that don't require you to dim your light,' one commenter wrote. 'A good one will find you naturally.'
