Sinead, 60, from Limerick, is looking for her soulmate this week at First Date restaurant. “In a few years, I’ll be sitting on a beach bench feeling happy with the number 99 in my hand,” explains the charming yoga teacher, who also works at a donkey sanctuary.
Michael, 63, from Wexford, is looking for someone who is tall, healthy, confident and passionate. Sinead seems to have ticked that box, but considering the retired Garda is from Limerick, I’m surprised he’s not interested in the GAA.
Things get a little awkward when Sinead reveals she brought a label with her in case she forgets her date’s name, but thankfully she doesn’t. “Do you remember my name?” Sinead asks Michael. “No,” he admits.
In the end, she told him her name again and all was forgiven. Michael opens up about his terrible car accident, and he reveals that although he wanted children, he was very close to his niece. She even lit a candle for him before his big date.
After dinner, the two are asked a very important question. “Do you want to meet up romantically again?”
Michael goes first. “It was a great date,” he began. We feel the “but” coming.
“I don’t think we’re suited overall,” he says. reason? She is not interested in sports.
Sinead admits that she would have liked to see him again, but agrees to keep in touch.
“Look, what you see is what you get,” says Mayoman Alan.
The 30-year-old describes himself as “honest, loyal and happy” and says he looks for the same traits in his date, Megan, 30, from Kildare.
As they sit down for dinner, Megan asks the Mayo man if he has any children. “Not yet,” he said, then added that he was something of a “retired racehorse.”
“You’ve run me a race and it’s time for me to go to stud,” he explains as his date – thankfully – laughs.
Halfway through the meal, the two are already planning to prepare the dog, and Alan is still making Megan laugh.
He joked that she had food on her face before dousing him with beer. “At least we feel comfortable together,” he says, laughing and giving his date yet another compliment.
When asked if they could meet again, there was a brief silence, but after some nagging from Megan, Alan replied with a light “yes,” followed by a date-like “Yeah,” and the pair laughed. I did.
The ending credits reveal that the dizzy two are officially a couple.
Bell, 30, a genderqueer, non-binary, bisexual and polyamorous civil servant from Wicklow, makes the rookie mistake of opening the wrong door to a restaurant (he seriously needs to put up a sign). Despite this, they are calm and confident.
“Gender is my playground. I’m neither male nor female…I’m a little bit of everything,” Bell later explained, adding that they were looking for someone who was “not an asshole or a wet blanket.” Told.
Sam, 28, with facial piercings and bright blue hair, enters the First Date restaurant and meets Belle at the bar.
They are both nervous but agree that they already feel like everything will be fine.
During their date, Sam opens up about his body dysmorphia and gender dysphoria, while the two open up about their mental health struggles.
When asked if podcaster Bell was in love with Sam, she replied: “Right away.” On the other hand, Sam also thought that he and Belle would become friends quickly. After all, they say, they wore almost the same clothes.
Sam immediately said “yes” to the reunion. The two hold hands in the elevator and head to Fivers to continue their date.
On their first date, the maître d’Matteo gives Chuggy, a 24-year-old from Dublin, confidence by complimenting him on his “guns” when they meet.
The bodybuilder says he doesn’t use dating apps and prefers Instagram. His date, Nahir, 21, from Dublin, feels the same way.
Within minutes of meeting, the two are already sharing a drink with two straws. They had some awkward moments, like when Chuggy pulled out a chair for Nahya and Nahya walked past him without noticing, but we felt the chemistry.
At the dinner table, the conversation turns to zodiac signs, but luckily Nahya gets along well with Gemini, so Chuggy has no problem with it. But Nahya wants to know more, so she pulls out her phone and takes a closer look at her date’s horoscope. She says that while her phone is out of service, Chuggy might give her his Instagram handle. Smooth.
The two share dessert, and Chaggy admits to waitress Alice Maher that Nahya “looks like me.”
On the count of three, they both say yes to meeting again. They leave the restaurant holding hands and smiling. “We’re going to ride off into the sunset now,” says Nahya.