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Closer’s dating expert, Rebecca Twomey, asks how honest we need to be about our romantic history – and if it’s ever OK to say nobody wants to date you?

Along with millions of die-hard Love Island fans, last week I watched flight attendant Amy Hart,

27, reveal in the opening episode that she’d never had a boyfriend.

She added that she often liked men but they’d never reciprocated, and that she has been “ghosted” a lot.

I instantly warmed to her. For me, her vulnerability, self-deprecation and

openness were endearing, and only added to her attractiveness. But then again, I’m not trying to date her. And perhaps, when looking for love, we should all employ a few filters on our romantic reality.

My friends have warned me against telling men I meet that I’ve been single for half a decade, because it looks like I’m “undateable”. I joke that I probably am, but I’ve been reluctant to start off by lying to someone about my past

relationships, or lack thereof. I know it doesn’t look great that I’ve failed to meet The One in all that time. But while I’ve dated a handful of guys for a few months at a time over the last five years, it’s never evolved into what I would describe as a relationship. Also, during those five years, I’ve had things happen which forced dating to fall to the bottom of my agenda.

It’s inevitable that, when you go on a date, the other person will ask how long you’ve been single – but does that really determine how compatible you are as people?

Now I avoid asking that question early on, and swerve it when grilled on my history. I simply say that I’m not trying to hide anything, I just don’t want to discuss the past right now as I’d prefer to focus on getting to know them.

I do think it’s an important conversation to have later on – everyone is a product of their past. But maybe it’s wise in the early stages to hold back some personal information that could misrepresent you.