It’s not always wedding bells that signify success. Sometimes it’s the notification bell when your phone gets a new Tinder message.

Most of us have long given up on the idea of finding true romance on dating apps. And it’s not surprising, after all, only 13.6% of dating app users have actually gotten engaged or married.

Yet this is one of these dating urban legends – the ones that get passed mouth-to-mouth about happy couples who somehow found each other in the chilling cyberspace of dating apps.

Check out our article on online dating HERE

Vanessa’s story

This is how 20-year-old Vanessa met her girlfriend of almost 2 years:

“I had just broken up with my ex in September 2021 – my first month in uni. Me and my friend at the time were in the kitchen and we were complaining about seeing couples everywhere (we used to do a lot of people watching).

“I was whining so much – ‘Oh I wanna see someone, I want a relationship’. Once she got tired she just told me to go on Tinder and find someone, so I was like ‘Fine, I’ll do it, just watch’. It was just a dare – we started matching with people just to troll them.

“One night I changed it from both men and women to just women, I didn’t want to deal with men anymore. And then Yasmin – it happened! We started talking and a week later she was all mine.”

Let’s face it, once you take dating seriously, an inevitable wave of cynicism washes over you. The best way to fight it is trusting your gut – literally!

“I never get shy when I’m flirting or anything like that, but she’s the only one who’s ever made me get butterflies.” said Vanessa.

“Seriously, they were so much! It just felt so natural – I met her, we got serious, and it’s always felt like it’s meant to be.”

Vanessa

Like any other success story, you need to go through a rite of passage too. When it comes to romance, this usually manifests in the horrible first dates you go through before you find the one. Vanessa was no exception:

“I went on a date at 6 am after the girl had been on a night out – really bad date. We didn’t do anything, we spoke for a couple of hours and she just wasn’t my type. Later, I get a message from her, accusing me of giving her COVID. You just went on a night out – why do you think it was me?”

However, she argues it is all worth – and just gives you a bit of extra laughing stock once you finally couple up:

“The world is just full of weirdos – they’re everywhere, you can’t escape them. Once you find the right person who works with you and just clicks, no one else matters!”

Edited by Audrey Chow