For those who know me, know that I am obsessed with Good Morning America. I grew up watching the show every morning with my mom before school. I cried when Diane and Charlie said their goodbyes. I wanted to hug Robin when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. But, this morning, I call BULLSHIT on one of their stories. Today, they featured a girl (I will call her a girl since she is only 25) named Jessica Sporty. Jessica claims that she saved $1200 in a month of online dating because guys bought her dinners. Again, BULLSHIT.
You can see her interview and read the article here.
Here are my reasons…
1. As you can see from my many dates, guys don’t always pay for dinner! See The Flying Dutchman or Cheap Water Guy.
2. Most people who online date know that dinner isn’t the best first date. 90% of the time, a first date consists of a drink (cocktail or coffee) so you can see if you want to spend both time and money on this person in the future. If guys went on dinner dates for first dates all the time us single girls would be fat and all the single guys would be poor.
3. Watch Jessica’s interview and you can see that she went out with some people strictly for food. Really? People she wasn’t even attracted to. Not cool. I have been out with my share of guys, but have always hoped for some kind of connection! I don’t always say yes when asked out.
4. Jessica is 25. Again, we’ve all been in our 20s. But, how old were the guys she was dating that took her to all of these amazing places? If she was actually dating guys in her appropriate age bracket she would be grabbing a slice and a movie – romantic, but also a normal date for someone just starting out their career.
5. Lets talk geography. In New York, Jessica is an average girl. In a city of glamazons, socialites and hot housewives, why would men be dropping $200-$500 on Jessica every night?
6. Oh, Jessica. Why in the hell would you out yourself? Are five minutes on Good Morning America worth the world calling you a gold digger?
Now, to give Jessica some credit… when I was 23 my girlfriends and I joked about the “Girl’s Gotta Eat” program that we started. I was young, had just started my career and was making $400 a week. My rent was $1000. You do the math. Luckily, I did what you’re told NOT to do and started dating someone at work within the first few months of getting hired. He, who was 24, would take me out to lunch and dinner occasionally. I think I saved a few hundred bucks for the two months we dated. After that, it was back to ramen and tuna.
But… from there I learned how to be a big girl and pay for my own dinner.
