In the past, we've asked the BuzzFeed Community to share their online dating horror stories and their online dating success stories. Now we're putting the best (and worst) stories together so you can see the drama as well as the love! So, here are 16 online dating success stories and 17 horrific ones:
Some of these submissions have been pulled from a Reddit thread started by u/just_brioche.
1. This bill that definitely wasn't going to be split:
2. And this person whose aunt became their successful wingwoman:
"After going hard in the Tinder paint off and on for two years, I met my current boyfriend on it by a weird twist of fate. I was at my cousin's bridal party, and a woman I hardly knew kept asking me what was happening in my life. My response was 'I bought cats yesterday' 'cause I actually had.
"So in a mimosa-drunk state I saddled up to my newly divorced aunt and showed her how to Tinder. Joe [my now-boyfriend] popped up, and she said, 'Can I swipe him for you? He's handsome.' After one year of dating, he's moving in with me and my cats."
—Katherine Flaherty, Facebook
3. This date who gave off total Joe from You vibes:
4. And this super smooth pick-up line:
"I matched with her about a year ago, and we went on a nice first date to Universal City Walk. The karaoke bar was closed, so we went to a beer spot next door. I thought it was a nice first date, but she went on vacation after that night, and we lost touch. We both end up deleting Tinder and rejoining about a year later and eventually match. I've since had life-saving surgery, and you can see the scars in one of my pictures. She messages me, saying, 'Looks like you could use a doctor in your life.' She's a doctor, BTW. I respond, reminding her that we had a date before, and she says, 'Since you've had a second chance at life, would you give me another chance with a second date?'
Smoothest pick-up line I had ever heard. Wow! We've been inseparable since. We've traveled to another country together, exchanged house keys, and visited each other's families for Thanksgiving. We're only roughly five months in, but we already know this is serious. As they say, when you know, you know."
5. This guy who just couldn't take a hint:
6. And this date that proved good things come to those who wait:
"I had left my ex about a year prior and dated a ton. I literally went on a date each night. It was mostly bland, and nothing too exciting came from it. Then I matched with a cute guy from an hour away. We messaged extensively for about a week before meeting up. For our first date, we had dinner, walked around a casino, then saw 50 Shades of Grey. It was a beyond-awesome date. When I got home, I promptly canceled all future dates with others I had planned.
After our second date, we moved pretty quickly from that point. We live together and have the world's weirdest cat. We've been together for almost two years and have been engaged for nearly a year."
7. This comment that literally no one asked for:
8. And this person who always wins on Tinder:
9. This very awkward encounter at work:
"So, I matched with this guy on Tinder, and he seemed nice. However, something just kept telling me there was something off about him. He kept getting really pushy about meeting up at places I was not comfortable with. I finally decided to unmatch him. Fast-forward about a month, and I'm at work. I happen to be a corrections officer at the regional jail in my area. I am working one of the male units, and an inmate walks up to my desk and says he knows me. After interviewing him, it turns out it's the guy I matched with and decided not to meet. It turns out he is in on kidnapping charges. Needless to say, I changed units and told my supervisors immediately."
10. And this super-festive love story:
"I met my girlfriend on Tinder. We matched on December 23rd last year while I was at my mom's house for Christmas. I jokingly asked he if she would come with me to Christmas Eve Mass the following day with my mom and me, and she agreed! She met me at my house and brought my mom a present. We went to church and came back to the house, where she helped me decorate the tree, and then we watched Home Alone after. Still one of my favorite days. We started dating officially five months later."
11. This guy who thought it was romantic to offer his date drugs:
"I met up with this guy on Tinder, and we seemed to click. Fast-forward into the date and he disappeared and came back holding a sandwich-sized bag half full of what looked like broken glass. Crack, my Tinder date had crack. I politely declined his offer and then, when I had the opportunity, made an exit."
12. And this ultra-cute Tinder wedding:
13. This guy who was so bored that he fell asleep during the date:
14. And this super-cliché yet super-cute love story:
"Myself and the Mrs. matched on Tinder about a year and three months ago. We’ve been a cliché since the start: talked all through the night, met for the first time two days later, and haven’t been apart since. It wasn’t long before we did the (again cliché) lesbian thing of moving in together and buying a cat.
"I love her like crazy and am thrilled whenever our colleagues/mates tell us they want a love like ours. Tinder definitely won this round."
15. This guy who aspired to live like Mr. Grey:
16. And this couple that made me believe in love at first sight:
17. This guy who clearly had the wrong idea of important questions to ask a potential date:
18. And this person who took a chance on Tinder and ended up finding true love:
"He messaged me on Tinder about something in my bio. At the time, I was so sick of Tinder and dating altogether. I replied, thinking, Let's see how far this goes before he turns into a creep. To my shock, we ended up in a really odd but funny conversation, and he asked me out the same night! For our first date, we met up for coffee and a movie. I was really nervous, as I like to have a nice supply of alcohol on dates in case things get awkward. And they were, as we were two strangers sitting in a dark movie theater next to each other in what turned out to be a three-hour movie. But luckily, he asked if I wanted to get a drink afterward, and I happily obliged. We closed down the bar, and I was beaming when I got home.
After our second date, he said he would like to see me again but never made plans. So I took the reigns and asked him out. We decided to go for bottomless brunch. Long story short, we got wasted on a Sunday morning and spent the whole day walking around town. We just got back from a trip to the West Coast and celebrated our first anniversary! Just this time last year, I was waiting for him to turn into a fuckboy, and he has proved me wrong every time. He turned me into a mushy cuddle monster, and I can't imagine there ever was a time he was not in my life."
19. This guy who clearly doesn't know what being chivalrous means:
"I matched with a guy who asked me for my number after having an innocent conversation about Animal Crossing and weird dreams. He then asked me to "play Animal Crossing while I gag on his huge schlong."
20. And this time, Tinder positively changed someone's outlook on online dating:
21. This guy who clearly had much more important matters to attend:
22. And this guy who proved his love by driving hours just to see his crush:
"We met five years ago on MeetMe. He would drive out to see me at least twice a week (I didn't have my license at the time) in snowstorms that extended the drive time to an hour or two on really bad days. Our first and second date was coffee at Tim Hortons. Our third date was a really horrible movie that we saw in theater and were legitimately the only people there; we made fun of it together the entire time. Now we're engaged, have an apartment together, and a cat. He's the most incredible person in the entire world, and I couldn't imagine life without him."
23. This date that turned into a cold and lonely winter night:
24. And this love story that started with a cheesy poem:
"I met my boyfriend on Tinder, and we've been together for almost nine months! He sent me, 'Roses are red, violets are blue, I'm not a poet, is this a haiku?' Usually, this would be too cheeseball for me to answer, BUT my friend had tried to set me up in person with him just three months prior! He didn't know I knew who he was, so it was kind of hilarious. I asked him if he knew my friend, just to be certain, and he said yeah, he did! She had told me that he was so shy and that she barely knew him because he's her boyfriend's friend, but that he was really sweet and would be perfect for me (we both don't love partying very much; we are both the stay and talk to one person all night types of people).
He surprisingly asked me on a date the second day we talked on Tinder, but I couldn't go on the day he'd asked for. I made a point to tell him that I wasn't making an excuse, and we should plan for a different day.
We went to a place called Across the Board Game Cafe for our first date, which is like a little café with full bookshelves of board and card games to choose from. It was perfect because we got to chat lots, but if anything felt awkward or we didn't know what to say, we could focus on the game.
Fast-forward to now, and he is the best man I know. I have been battling pretty bad depression this year, and he is always there for me. He understands that sometimes I get mad about stupid things, and when I apologize for it, he will always say to me, 'You don't need to be sorry. You're just having one of those days, and that's OK. I love you.'
I am so thankful for Tinder because it let me meet my best friend. It's a dream come true."
25. This date that brought along all his baby mama drama:
"I met a guy online, and we hit it off on our first date. A couple of weeks later, we had gone on four dates, and he knew where I lived. That's when it started getting weird. He wouldn't return my phone calls, so after a week, I stopped trying. Not long after, I glanced out the window of my house and saw him parked a couple of houses down with another person in the car. I waited to see what he would do, and he drove off an hour later.
A couple of days later, he was back, except parked in a different location. I started to get freaked out. There was also a second person in the car that time. They left two hours later. The third time I saw his car outside, I was poised to call the cops. I didn't get a chance because there was a knock on the door. I opened it to a very pregnant girl on my front steps. She began to rant, saying, 'How could I date a guy with a girlfriend?! Did I not have any morals? Who did I think I was, trying to steal her man?'
I let her go on for a while before I interrupted her, told her I had no idea, and why she was mad at me; I wasn't the one cheating on her. I found out that she forced him to drive to my house and sit outside nine different times. She wanted to see what I looked like and have him confront me and break it off, but he wouldn't go up to my door. I wish them all the best."
26. And this one kiss that changed everything:
27. This extremely weird request:
28. And this super-like that turned into a real relationship:
"We matched, and I'm pretty sure he super-liked me. The only thing he sent me was 'I added you on Snapchat.' When I got back, we went on dates and hooked up for almost three months. Anytime you'd ask if we were dating, he'd say, 'Basically.' It became our inside joke. Christmas Eve of 2016, he asked me to be his girlfriend with a cute scavenger hunt around our apartment. Two years later, we moved across the country together, have a dog, and have started shopping for rings. I really feel like he's my best friend."
29. This guy who clearly wasn't new to ghosting people:
30. And this Tinder match that seemed more like a match made in heaven.
31. This guy who used his date to flirt with someone else:
"I matched with a guy, and we talked for a bit before agreeing to meet for drinks. On the day of, he shows up late, then says he can't find me (after walking by me twice). He finally sits down, and as we order drinks, he starts up a flirtatious conversation with the waitress. Halfway through the first drink, he announces he doesn't think we have any "chemistry" and thinks he should go. I chug the rest of my drink and tell him good luck with the waitress. He smirks and says that he thinks he has a shot with her."
32. And this very obvious connection:
"We matched, and he sent me a basic 'Hey.' I wouldn't usually respond to such dry chat but was a little tipsy from a night out, so I replied anyway. We had a really basic conversation for the next 15 minutes or so and then agreed to meet up for a drink a couple of nights later. We didn't speak to each other between this period of time other than when he checked we were still good, and we agreed on the logistics of where we were meeting, etc. I wasn't expecting much from our first date since I've been on a couple of uninspiring Tinder dates so far that month. There was barely any awkwardness at all, and we just seemed to chat the night away. It went really well! To my surprise, he texted me the next morning, saying he had a great night and wanted to hang out in a couple of days.
We went to a bar that was coincidently both of our local fave bars that play amazing music for our second date. We couldn't stop laughing and talking the whole night, and I knew I fancied him so much at this point. I stood up to tell him a funny story, and he pulls me in by my waist, and we start making out. I was amazing, and when we pulled away, I said, 'Wait, so does that mean that you fancy me then?' He laughed and said, 'Well...obviously yeah!' Ever since then, we've been going out for two months, and I really feel like it's the start of something super magical."
33. And finally, this guy who messed up way too many times:
Do you have any amazing or terrible online dating stories you need to tell someone about? Feel free to drop them in the comments below!
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.