L ve at f irst swipe
Dubliner Gemma reveals how she found love with the most ‘right-swiped’ man on Tinder and warns: ‘Don’t swipe left too soon’
IT WAS love at first Tinder match for glamorous Dubliner Gemma Fowler, who met and is now dating the app’s most ‘right-swiped’ man.
This week Gemma and her live-in boyfriend, model Stefan-Pierre Tomlin, went viral all over the world when it was revealed that her handsome beau was the most ‘rightswiped’ – or ‘successful’ man on the dating site.
Tinder is one of the world’s most popular smartphone dating apps, with over 50 million users. Research suggests as many as 200,000 people use Tinder in Ireland.
Users create a profile with their first name, age, pictures and a short biography. They can like other profiles by swiping right or dislike them by swiping left.
If both parties swipe right, they match and they can message each other through the app.
Gemma, 26, spoke exclusively to the Irish Mail on Sunday about her love match with Stefan, 27.
And she has some advice for those looking for love online, saying ‘don’t swipe too soon’ and ‘don’t judge too soon’. The former Miss University Ireland contestant has been living in London for two years, where she is a sales manager at Harrods.
‘I would recommend going on Tinder,’ she said. ‘It’s a good place to get to know people with similar interests and also if they have a sense of humour.
‘I moved to Paris straight after Miss University and I have been in London for over two years now. I was really busy with work when I came to live here, so it was hard to meet people.’
But her love luck changed when she swiped right on model Stefan, and they have been inseparable ever since.
‘The funny part is, I was only on it for a few days before I met Stefan.
‘He was a bit of a pro on it, obviously. But he was the first guy I met on it over here. And he hasn’t left my side since.’
The pair are together for over a year now and have set up home together.
She says that her boyfriend is extremely romantic and has whisked her away on surprise dates.
‘He picked me up from work one day and took me out for a surprise date. That was the day he took me to Aladdin [the West End show]. He had a booth with champagne and a goodie bag, and it was just out of nowhere. It was really lovely.’
Stefan has said in an interview that he strongly believes ‘there will be marriage on the cards’ and ‘as the days go on, Gemma has become even closer to me and I would love a future with my best friend’.
Gemma is a bit more circumspect. She says she has found her one true mate, but laughs at the mention of the possibility of marriage. ‘I wouldn’t use the M word, but we are definitely serious. He has been to Dublin quite a few times, he’s part of the family.’ And for love hopefuls using the dating app in the hopes of finding their ideal mate, Gemma says don’t judge a person solely by their profile. ‘Don’t swipe left too soon. You don’t want to pass The One. ‘I would have regretted it if I hadn’t given him the green light.’
‘Tinder’s a good place to get to know people’