Bad dates happen, and sometimes, it’s no one’s fault! Getting along with someone online doesn’t always translate to physical chemistry, and when that happens, the date can end up becoming awkward, painful and boring. There’s nothing worse than being stuck on a date with someone you just can’t connect with, someone who is extremely rude or nasty, or worse, someone you clash on everything with! In these instances, we think it’s alright to get out of the date – but don’t be rude and sneak out the backdoor on pretext of hitting the bathroom. Here are 6 ways to get out of a bad date smoothly, without coming across as rude or obvious.
Have someone text or call you with an emergency
An oldie but a goodie. If you find that the date is not going well at all right from the get go, excuse yourself to the bathroom and call a friend to text you with an emergency in 15 minutes so it doesn’t seem as obvious. When the text comes in, politely excuse yourself (there’s no need to be dramatic) and leave.
Feign an illness
No one would be heartless enough to force a sick person to stick around. You don’t need to come up with something dramatic like an allergy – if you’ve had drinks, say the alcohol isn’t sitting well and you’re feeling unwell and would like to go home. If not, you can say you’ve had a long day and are feeling particularly run down. Just don’t come up with an illness that is too obvious, and do not fake coughs!
Get a friend to run into you
If your date is taking place anywhere but a sit-down dinner for two, get a friend to “run into you” and smoothly turn the date into a casual hang out with the 3 of you. Your date should get the hint that it isn’t going to turn into a romantic evening and hopefully, will leave early.
Cut the date short
If you know the date isn’t going well from the get-go, make it clear that you aren’t going to be sticking around for the entire evening by saying something like, “oh by the way I have to meet a friend in an hour or so, so I can’t hang out too long”.
Spill a drink on yourself
This is probably best used as a last resort, but spilling a drink on yourself is a sure-fire way to get out of a bad date. Excuse yourself for being such a klutz and head home, citing that the fabric will stain if you don’t get it into the wash immediately.
Be honest
If you aren’t the type to lie and scheme, sometimes honesty works just as well. Be upfront with your date and simply tell them while it was nice to meet them, you are ready to head home for the evening as you don’t think you guys are compatible. Adults are typically well-mannered enough that more excuses won’t be needed in this instance. Just remember not to overcompensate your relief of getting out of the date early by texting something overly enthusiastic like “it was great to meet you and we should do it again!” – this is just confusing.