Looking for love... with my mother by my side!
WOULD you go on a doubledate with your mother? Now imagine doing it on national television.
Viewers of the new series of First Dates tonight will get a glimpse of what would be a nightmare scenario for many – but proves to be great fun for the show’s first ever motherdaughter dating duo.
Delia, 22, and her 53-year-old mammy Amy will win viewers over instantly when they appear on the much-loved programme tonight.
‘I really, really enjoyed doing it with my mum. My mum is not your typical Irish mam. She’s American. She’s young at heart. She’s mad,’ Delia explained.
‘Mum would swipe left a lot’
Amy is an avid year-round sea swimmer whose group of friends are called ‘Mermates’ and she’s even competed for Ireland ice swimming in Poland. Originally from North Carolina, Amy relocated here 21 years ago after meeting Delia’s dad in London.
They share two children and are now amicably separated – but dating is trickier than it used to be, with Amy noting: ‘There are slim pickings now.’
And she’s also wary of dating anyone much younger than herself, saying: ‘I don’t want to be a Mrs Robinson.’
Delia revealed that her mother is well up on digital dating: ‘She goes out and about – but we set her up on Tinder; you have to. She’d be definitely swiping left. She’s fussy.’
Amy agreed: ‘I’ve too much life experience to just settle. I’m confident in who I am.’
They were both baffled by the sheer volume of ‘catfishing’ – less than honest – profiles on platforms like Tinder and Plenty of Fish, which Amy hates. But it didn’t manage to spoil anything. ‘We had so much fun,’ Amy said.
Delia dates Cian from Drogheda on the programme and does her NGO worker mum proud, engaging in important conversation about mental health over dinner.
Meanwhile, Amy is paired up with Donie.
Along with the two Wicklow women, the show also features an amusing inked-up pairing – among many others.
The show was filmed in The Gibson Hotel’s restaurant on the North Docks in Dublin last summer. Tune in to see if the ladies found love at 9.30pm on RTÉ Two tonight.