Bit of a wobble to date again

GETTING back into the dating game can be a daunting prospect at any time, but for some women finding love post-lockdown, the struggle to find their feet is very real, according to the matchmaker behind First Dates.

Robert Lanigan, producer of the hit RTÉ series, said that some women are literally struggling to slip back into their high heels as they nervously totter back onto the dating scene.

He said: ‘The series that is airing now is the second year of the pandemic. So, what was funny that we noticed was when women were putting the high-heeled shoes on, they were struggling because they weren’t used to wearing them! Nobody had been out for such a long time, so dressing up hadn’t be done for a long while.’

TV’s very own cupid, who has been working on pairing hopeful couples on the show since its inception, said the pandemic has focused not only people’s minds, but also their hearts.

‘Overall, I think the pandemic has maybe focused people on what they want in life,’ he says.

First Dates Ireland is now in its seventh series and, with no signs of waning public interest, applications for love-lorn contestants have now opened for season eight.

Lanigan believes the keen national interest in other people’s affairs of the heart has sustained the show, with the daters’ personal stories its beating heart.

‘We’re nosy as a nation. Through First Dates, people can get to see into other people lives.’

His job working behind the scenes to help couples find love has afforded Robert a unique insight into matters of the heart, where the laws of attraction don’t necessarily apply.

‘Sometimes opposites attract but then other people are looking for a mirror image of themselves. So, it’s all about finding out about what attracts someone to someone else,’ he said. ‘Sometimes we get it right and sometimes we get it wrong.’