As much as us millennials want to convince ourselves that there are specific steps we should take to make a first date successful, I just don’t believe that’s true.

Who says we have to kiss someone on a first date to let them know we’re interested? Or, if we decide we want to sleep with someone on a first date, why do we think this means they will never want to see us again?

No first date is the same and different things work for different people. Is it fair to tell someone, they shouldn’t immediately text at the end of a successful first date if they want to, because you think it will come across far too keen? Probably not, because maybe the person they’ve just been on a date with might be looking for some reassurance that everything went well and besides, any normal functioning human being likes to be told that they’ve made a good impression on someone they’re dating.

Ultimately, if you sleep with someone on a first date and they aren’t genuinely interested in getting to know you, the likelihood is you won’t hear from them again … we could refer to someone like this as a ‘player’ and if that’s the dating path they are walking, then thats just fine, but if its not the one you want to walk, I would suggest taking a different route!

Personally, I’m not very affectionate, so for me to kiss someone on a first date, it would have to be because there is some kind of palpable chemistry between us. But ultimately I’m more of a slow burner. Does this mean people think i’m not interested? Well, yes probably sometimes, but that’s normally only when I haven’t reassured them that I’ve enjoyed spending time with them.

I cannot stress enough how much there isn’t a set rule book everyone should follow! I remember one of my friends telling me about one of her dating disasters, on her first date with a guy she got so drunk that she was sick on the tube right next to him … logically we would all assume that this guy would never want to see her again right? WRONG. He messaged her the next day to set up date number two ….

My last relationship formed after a drunken one night stand and we stayed together for three years. But also, on the one occasion I went on a first date and slept with the guy on the same night, I ended up never seeing him again and I’m sure thats a very relatable situation to a lot of people.

Ultimately, on a first date, you do whatever you think feels right. You wanna get drunk, get drunk. You wanna snog their face off, you do it! You wanna steal their phone and tell their family you’re going to marry them …. probably don’t do that actually. But sometimes, things we think will put someone off, just doesn’t and things we think will keep someone interested, ultimately pushes them away.

So on your next first date, you do you and make sure that date finishes exactly the way you want it to (probably making a second one)!