Recently, Reddit user u/Eseohii23 asked the question, "Those who’ve walked out on first dates, what was your 'I’m out of here' moment?" in r/AskReddit. Here are some of their wildest stories.
1. "She had 22 cats and would just randomly take in strays. She wouldn't give them any vet care and was planning on keeping a recent litter. I paid the bartender when she went to the bathroom and hyper-walked to the door. I immediately forwarded her contact info and a summary of what she told me to the humane society."
2. "I went to meet a guy for the first time at his house and there was a pile of toenail clippings on his coffee table. And it wasn’t one recent clipping. It was, like, MANY clippings. Out the door I went."
3. "I had a first date with a girl who insisted we go to a really expensive place, where she ordered a $25 appetizer, $45 steak, and a $15 drink. The whole time, she kept taking calls and answering texts. The waitress noticed and motioned for me from behind her. I excused myself, and the waitress had separate bills all made up and asked if I wanted to pay my share and leave her at the table. I said, 'That would be wonderful!' So I did."
4. "He invited me and a friend to play dodgeball with a group of folks I’d never met. We were hanging out in the parking lot before the first game, and out of nowhere, he grabbed a ball and threw it at my crotch as hard as he could and screamed, 'Wham, bam, right in the clam!' I immediately turned to my friend and asked if she was ready to leave."
5. "He had a Bluetooth headset with a little LED light that showed it was on. He kept it on during drinks. I worked up the nerve to ask if he could take off the headset while we were eating dinner, and with pride and complete confidence he said, 'Don't worry! You totally have my full attention. This isn't a phone headset, it's a camera.'"
6. "She brought her pet rat with her (she kept it hanging out of her bra) and she fed it french fries. She also casually mentioned she had warrants, so I just faked an emergency and bailed."
7. "I went on a first date with a military guy. He spent a large portion of the date talking about why the strippers in Toronto were better than the strippers where we lived. To change the topic, I asked him if he did any volunteer work with the military overseas and he said, 'NO! I joined the military to kill people, not help people!' I got my bill, chugged my beer, and left as fast as I could."
—ldid
8. "So my friend has a beard, and on one of his dates, he picked up this girl and on their way to dinner, she said, 'You do realize that if this is gonna work, you have to shave that off, right?' He didn’t say anything, just turned around and dropped her back off at her house."
9. "Within 10 minutes of meeting my date, he started making sexual comments and 'joking' about following me home so he could stalk me if I rejected him. I got out with the help of a bartender who let me leave out the back door."
10. "She finally let it slip that she had a boyfriend 'but it was totally fine because things had been going bad for a long time and she was going to break up with him.' My thoughts were that if she would do that to him, she'd do it to me too. No thanks."
11. "It was a 1 p.m. lunch date and she was drunk as a skunk. She invited me back to her place, where she said her 2-year-old son wouldn't even notice. I noped out and called her a cab home. I still feel bad for the son years later."
12. "I realized she was trying to get her ex jealous of me. I let her pick the place and time, and she chose where her ex worked. I left during the date and apologized to the ex. Later, she texted me saying that she'd forgive me for the faux pas if I went on another date with her — she still picked the same time and place. I ghosted her."
13. "My date was 45 minutes late picking me up (but the weather was bad, so I gave him a pass). When we got to the coffee shop, I took off my jacket and he immediately said, 'I see you brought your A game, or should I say, D game!' referring to my breasts. Even the people two tables over just stopped and looked at him."
14. "Went to pick up my blind date. She opened the door, looked at me, and said, 'Ew.' I looked at her and said, 'Yeah, I agree!' and turned on my heel and left. Total date time was less than five minutes!"
15. "I had to pick him up and he complained about everything. My car, the way I drove, my music taste, why was I being so quiet, etc. But the last straw was the moment he said, 'My friends really want to meet you. I need them to know you’re real.' Annnnnnndddddd that’s when I bounced."
16. "I walked into a guy’s house and heard his mom yell out, 'Guy, who the hell is that? I told you I didn’t want any more girls in here!' I turned around and walked out."
17. "We had chatted online. At the time, I was a smoker and told him. He said no big deal because he smoked too. When we finally met up, the first thing he said was, 'By the way, when I said I smoke, I was talking about meth.' I said, 'Oh, bye.' And turned around and left."
18. "We sat down for dinner and had a decent but uninspired conversation. Ordered, food arrives. As we started eating, she shushed me and said, 'No more talking, I'm just here for the food.' I dropped a $20 on the table and walked out."
19. And lastly: "I had a first date with a girl who told me, 'Actually, I'm engaged, but I'm not 100% sure if he's the right one, so I'm going to go out on a few dates to see if I change my mind.' Check please!"
H/T r/AskReddit
Answers have been edited for length and/or clarity.