I’m sick of dating in London so I flew to Spain to meet a man from Hinge in the hope I would find love

A singleton has claimed dating in London has become ‘so bad’ she felt forced to ‘go international’ and pay £250 to fly to Spain in search of love instead.

Celeste Hartley was so fed up with the “bleak” dating scene in London that on Friday, April 19, she spontaneously decided to fly to Malaga, Spain, to meet a man she matched with on Hinge.

The 28-year-old, who lives in Brixton, south London, had a ‘surreal’ weekend of romance for a first date with a 28-year-old from Malaga, and swears it has given her ‘hope for humanity’ while dating. world.

Celeste took to TikTok to document her whirlwind experience, sharing a video of her at the airport with the caption: “If dating in London is so bad you should go international,” which now has 235,000 views.

In the clip, Celeste tells her followers, “Regardless of what happens between me and said man, it’s worth it considering how exciting this whole thing has been so far.”

A follow-up post reveals a compilation of photos from the short break, including an impromptu trip to a tattoo parlor so they could both get tattoos, sightsee and eat lots of food.

Many users praised Celeste in the comments as “life is about adventure” and said they were “invested” in her decision.

Other users criticized the 28-year-old for spending “too much money” on a first date.

The owner of the marketing and consultancy company revealed that after matching with the Spanish man, the pair immediately had a ‘very good conversation’ and Celeste quickly agreed to fly to him during a phone call.

Celeste said, “I saw it on my explore page, but I didn’t like it. He sent me a funny message and we soon got into a really good conversation.

‘He asked me a lot of questions. I’m kind of bad at commenting there, which kind of adds to the problem. It turned into quite a deep conversation pretty quickly.

‘We decided to meet in Malaga, a bit close to where he lives, but we wanted to have a neutral ground.

‘I liked doing it for the adventure and because I’m quite tired of London. I always look for a reason to leave. And if anything, it would give me a nice vacation.

She added: “I thought, even if this doesn’t go well, it’s going to be worth it, considering how exciting the build-up has been.

‘There was no point in me thinking he would be someone he wasn’t. But I did have people ready if things went wrong. I told a lot of people about it and they said, ‘This is you.’

The 28-year-old admits flying to Spain for a first date ‘wasn’t the most normal situation’, but claims her impulsive decision ‘is what life is about’ and justified the £250 plane ticket.

After speaking regularly on the phone ahead of the trip, the singleton, who admits she has a ‘tendency to romanticize everything’, was delighted to find sparks flew during the 48-hour date.

Celeste said: “I was very nervous, but also excited. I tend to romanticize everything. You start to build an idea of ​​that person in your head.

‘I met him at the airport and it was the most surreal experience ever. We spent the weekend together, just walking around and chatting. It was definitely not the most normal situation.

‘It was a lot of time to spend with one person, but he went out of his way to make me feel very, very comfortable. He paid for where we stayed and was very generous.

‘It felt like that’s what life is about: doing exciting things and taking risks. Fortunately, things went well for me.’

After nearly six years of being single, Celeste admitted she was tired of London’s “throwaway romance culture” and frustrated by the superficial nature of dating apps, which prevented her from finding a partner.

Celeste said, “I was just sick of it. I was always sitting on the edge waiting for someone to let me down.

“I’ve gone through phases of wanting to put myself out there and then getting burned out and taking a six-month break. I struggled to find someone who matched my values.

“Because dating apps are like that, there are always so many other options now, so people are just chasing this dream of perfection.

“If they don’t find it, they just keep jumping from person to person, instead of actually taking the time to get to know someone.” It’s getting really superficial.’

She added: ‘In London specifically, everyone is so caught up in the rat race and focused on jumping through all the hoops, like finding a partner, settling down etc, that no one really knows what they want or what their values ​​are.

‘Dating ultimately becomes very transactional instead of actually getting to know the other person.

‘Dating in London is a process of validation rather than real connection. It’s so disposable and it’s hard to trust people’s motives. It’s gloomy out there.

‘I think dating in London is especially bad. So everywhere outside of London I think: go for it. There is hope for humanity.’

The singleton revealed her Spanish getaway went so well she has now deleted Hinge and he recently returned the favor and visited her in London for the weekend.

Celeste said, “We decided to make the whole ‘nationwide’ situation work.”

Many users praised Celeste for her adventurous approach to dating, with one user writing: ‘Have fun. Life is about adventure.’

A second said: ‘I flew to Turkey last week and did the same and it was the best decision.’

Meanwhile, a third joked: ‘Well done’ and a fourth added: ‘Invested’.

However, some users criticized Celeste for the effort she put into a first date.

One social media user said: ‘Too much money to spend on a first date.’

Another said: ‘It’s a warning sign if he doesn’t come to you first.’