Blind date

EvErY week, we send a couple out on a blind date. This time, Matt Davies, 31, had lunch at river station in Bristol with Stephanie Butcher, 26. Matt is the director of a furniture company and lives in Pentre, Wales. Stephanie is a marketing account executive and lives in Gloucester.

STEPHANIE, 26, SAYS:

I WAS so terrified of heading into the restaurant that I popped into a nearby bar beforehand and downed a glass of wine for courage! But I needn’t have worried.

As soon as I saw Matt I relaxed. He was really lovely — clearly a gentleman, with a nice smile and dressed smartly in black jeans and a shirt. And he’s absolutely my type: tall and muscly.

I’ve had two long-term relationships previously, the most recent ending around three years ago now.

Since then I’ve just not dated the right people, unfortunately. Either they aren’t how they look online, or they don’t get me or me them.

online dating isn’t great unless you can give it a lot of time and effort, because you have to constantly be on to respond to messages. Then there can be endless texting which goes nowhere.

So it was a real change to be on a first date and having a lovely time.

Matt made me laugh a lot. We talked so much that the waitress had to come back several times to take our order.

Matt ticked a lot of boxes: I’m looking for someone who has a good, solid career but who doesn’t take life too seriously; I’m attracted to athletic types; I’m an outgoing, fun, bubbly character and want to meet someone who has similar attributes.

I also love dogs, so anyone who doesn’t like animals won’t be for me. Luckily Matt does, although I laughed when he told me he wanted a sausage dog — him being so tall, it would never keep up!

We chatted about our backgrounds and lives. Like me, Matt is really career-driven and we both come from separated families, so were able to speak about what that meant and how difficult it can sometimes be trying to accommodate everyone.

He goes to the gym and does reiki, which is a healing therapy using hands and yoga.

Looking at Matt, it’s not what you would expect him to be into at all, because he looks so fit and good-looking. So it was lovely to find out there’s a lot more to him.

I felt he really opened up, which was endearing, and, yes, I fancied him 100 per cent. It started as a physical attraction and then grew into an attraction to him as a person as well.

After lunch, the date just kept going. We played crazy golf, then had a game of pool and a walk around the local market before he dropped me off at the train station. We were together for seven hours and it felt so natural.

We were definitely flirting; we had so much laughter and banter, and he teased me when I was terrible at golf, but he didn’t let me win, which I liked. We shared a lovely kiss goodbye, and started messaging each other soon after. We both laid our cards on the table and really clicked, and it never felt like games were being played. In fact, I felt there was enough chemistry for me to ask him if he wanted to see me again — and he said yes!

It happened quite easily and I didn’t feel like I was asking him out, but just that it would be great to meet up again as we had so much fun.

It may be tricky to see each other because of the distance between us and our work commitments, but I’m sure we’ll both make the effort. LIKED? I found him really endearing and open. REGRETS? None. COFFEE OR CAB? Ten coffees.

Verdict: 10/10 MATT, 31, SAYS:

AS SooN as Stephanie walked in I thought she was really pretty and warm, but I could tell she was really nervous. I tried to put her at ease by making jokes, and soon it was so relaxed and comfortable that we were making fun of each other and laughing. I like someone who has a sense of humour and Stephanie definitely has that. We chatted about our very busy careers, our families and what we do for fun, and found we had a lot in common. I like the gym and keeping fit, and it was great to see that Stephanie also really takes care of herself.

These days, I’m old enough and wise enough to know that if a person doesn’t add value to my life then I’d rather be single.

No doubt this is why I’ve not had lots of relationships. I dated someone recently for three months, but aside from that I haven’t been in a relationship for four years.

I can’t help feeling that the whole dating scene is a pain. I date, get frustrated, spend time working on myself, get a bit lonely and end up trying it all again. It can be a vicious circle.

The majority of people I have met online like to play emotional games and blow hot and cold. Everyone is dating everyone, and ‘loyalty’ is something people state as a quality in their online profiles when, frankly, it should be a given.

But Stephanie and I got on really well, and I’d definitely say we were flirting with each other. In fact, our lunch date turned into a seven-hour day-date.

The restaurant was amazing — I had steak followed by a chocolate dessert, and Stephanie couldn’t finish hers so I polished it off for her.

When we played crazy golf I decided I wasn’t going to take it easy on her, and she got quite annoyed that I was beating her, but all in good humour.

We definitely had a spark and we parted with a long kiss.

I’m happy to report that we’ve been in touch since.

My work schedule is pretty crazy at the moment, as is hers, so finding the time to meet up might be tricky, but I would definitely like to see her again. Yes, we live a little far apart. But that’s only an issue if you want it to be. LIKED? Pretty and easy to talk to, and we were relaxed with each other. REGRETS? None. COFFEE OR CAB? Coffee.

Verdict: 9/10

I asked if he wanted to see me again — he said yes! We parted with a lovely long kiss