You’re out drinking with your friends when you see a cute guy across the bar. Not being a shy gal yourself, you start to approach him. But then… oh wait, hmm, he looks familiar. Did you go to school with him? Have you met him out before? Did one of your friends date him? Did you date him? As your mind runs through all of the possibilities, suddenly it hits you – you saw him on free dating site.
This situation actually comes up a lot more than people realize, and not just out on the weekends. With online dating becoming the norm, it’s easy to spot people from the site everywhere you go – at the bar, work, the gym, the grocery store – even if your only interaction with them has been viewing their profiles. So what should you do? Say something? Run the other way? Pretend you haven’t seen them? It all depends on the situation and how much interaction you’ve actually had with him or her on the site.
How to Handle Real Life Dating Site Run-Ins
You’ve Checked Out Each Other’s Profiles
This one isn’t really a big deal. Yes, if you recognize each other, it can be awkward, but honestly, it’s similar to recognizing someone from a friend’s Facebook pictures. Sure, you kind of know who the other person is, but you’ve never actually spoken – so ignoring his or her presence isn’t really offensive.Now, if it’s someone you end up seeing on a regular basis – say, you work together – it’s OK to acknowledge that you’ve seen each other on the site. You can even joke around about it. However, from personal experience, I’ll tell you that actually trying to date someone from work that you’ve seen on a dating site is just asking for awkward.
One of You Has Emailed or Winked at the Other – With No Response
I give you full permission to duck, hide, and/or leave the premises. If he or she has contacted you and you ignored it, then it’s fine to avoid the situation, since it’s a bit like you actually rejected his advances in person. If you winked at her and she never responded, then it’s even more acceptable to head in the other direction if you have a real-life run-in. No one wants to be reminded of his or her rejection – especially when it comes to online dating.You’ve Both Expressed Interest or Are Planning to Meet
This one is up to you. If you would rather wait for the actual date, then it’s not a big deal to say nothing to the person. After all, if you’re out on the weekend, you do have the excuse that you were worried it wasn’t actually him or that you didn’t see her. But in this case, it’s not that strange to approach someone and meet ahead of time.
It might even help you figure out if a date would be a waste of your time. If you recognize someone you see on a regular basis, then it actually might be a little awkward to not say something. If and when you do end up actually meeting, it will be really obvious that both of you were avoiding saying anything before. Plus, if you connected on a dating site, why haven’t you already connected in real life?
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