A woman has recounted a disastrous Hinge date that ended with her being pressured into eating a homegrown cherry tomato on a busy Peckham road. Eleanor Biggs, an audio producer and journalist, said the encounter in early August 2021 left her initially worried the tomato might have been spiked.
Meeting Fabio
Biggs met Fabio on Hinge, describing him as 'not my usual type' but seemingly 'nice, even wholesome' from his profile. After a month of daily texting – during which he sent garden updates, called her his 'muse,' painted an abstract orange canvas in her honour, and sent a quiz that identified him as a butterfly and her as a wolf – she agreed to meet him for a drink in Peckham after work.
When they met, he didn't look like his pictures, but was 'warm and friendly.' At the bar, he gave her the nickname 'little lion' due to her curly blonde hair and put his arm around her. By the second hour, she had 'the ick,' especially after he complimented her 'beautiful blue eyes' and insisted she was 'wrong' when she corrected him that her eyes are green.
The tomato standoff
After messaging a friend from the toilet – who replied 'Get out of there!' – Biggs suggested calling it a night. Once outside, Fabio produced a tiny Tupperware containing a single cherry tomato, urging her to eat it as 'the first one from my garden.' She tried to refuse, but said he was 'physically intimidating, looming over me.' She ate the tomato to make him stop.
After saying goodbye, she flew down the street, feeling 'euphoric' the date was over. At home, she worried the tomato could have been spiked, but a friend assured her 'roofie-by-tomato' was unlikely. When no symptoms developed overnight, she realised it probably really was just a tomato.
Aftermath
Five years later, Biggs says she never heard from Fabio again and still wonders where he got the idea. 'I doubt I'll ever have a better dating story to tell at the pub,' she said. The search for love continues.
