A woman has shared the story of a first date that ended with her passing out on the pavement, splitting her face open, and her date calling her mum. Despite the ordeal, she went on a second date with him.
The woman, writing anonymously for Metro's "So, How Did It Go?" series, met the man on Hinge. They started with a walk before going to a pub for a pint, and talked about school and The Odyssey. She said she liked talking to him but wasn't sure if she felt ready, still recovering from a recent breakup.
Passing out outside the pub
After he asked when he could see her again, she told him she felt sick. Then, for the first time in her life, she passed out. She made no attempt to break her fall, and the bridge of her nose hit the tarmac. When she briefly regained consciousness, she looked at him and asked, "Who are you?" before passing out again.
Inside the pub, staff got involved. Her nose and eyebrow were split open, she had knocked part of a tooth out, and her face was swelling. Amid the chaos, she remembered she had a Penguin bar in her coat pocket and ate it in a single mouthful while a barmaid wiped blood from her eyes. Her date asked if she was diabetic.
Date calls her mum
Because she was temporarily living with her parents, her date had to ring her mum and introduce himself, saying: "You don't know me, but I'm with your daughter. She's … passed out. Does this happen a lot?" Her mum turned up calmly but concerned. Her dad then drove them to A&E, where they waited nine hours for her nose to be glued back together.
At the hospital, a doctor explained that a new medication she had started for a long-term health condition may not have been agreeing with her. The concussion lasted for a couple of months, which was inconvenient as she was due to start a new job.
Second date and aftermath
The man messaged and asked to hang out again. She felt it would be rude to decline after he had watched her collapse and seen her with her face split open. The second date was a coffee, as she was off drinking due to the concussion. She realised she really liked him, but not in the way she wanted to. Eventually, she told him she thought they should just be friends, and he was very cool about it.
Five years on, her nose leans to the right and is still prominently scarred. Her tooth never got fixed, but she thinks it gives her character. The new job recovered from her entrance too.
