I made a second Hinge account after a bad breakup. Different pictures, a more confident bio, and prompts that made me sound like someone who had her life together.
I wasn't catfishing anyone. The photos were mine. I just used pictures from two years earlier, when I slept properly and didn't look like I'd been personally victimised by adulthood.
Then I matched with a guy who seemed almost too good to be true.
We chatted for days. He was witty, flirted without being creepy, and somehow remembered every tiny detail I mentioned.
We agreed to meet at a café.
The moment he sat down, he smiled and said, “You look different from your pictures.”
My stomach dropped.
Then he added, “Not worse. Just less likely to be running a luxury travel company.”
I burst out laughing.
He admitted he had recognised me from a mutual friend's Instagram story. He'd matched because he thought I looked familiar and wanted to see whether I was the same person.
We spent the date roasting each other's profiles.
He confessed that he'd written “spontaneous traveller” despite never having left India, and I admitted that my ideal Sunday was cancelling plans and ordering parathas.
Somehow, the honesty made the flirting much better.
At the end, he asked if he could kiss me.
I said yes, then immediately covered my face because I was blushing like a schoolgirl.
He grinned. “Should I update your profile? ‘Can be embarrassed in under three seconds’?”
I told him I'd block him.
We have been dating for two months.
His bio still says he's spontaneous.
I am still waiting for the evidence.