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Total Swipe Out | Single...
How did the show concept come about?
(Part 1)
Let’s go back to the beginning…
In June last year I found myself single. After 6 years of chipping away at a relationship that was going nowhere, I decided to throw in the towel, exhausted with forgiving, and forgetting, and re-starting again and again, I felt like that chapter had long ended and it was time to turn the page. The thought of being single wasn’t one that particularly scared me, I was used to living alone the majority of the time due to my ex working away, and was happy in my own company with space to think, write, read, drink wine, and listen to the sweet harmonised tones of Boyz to Men. Being independent was what I had grown to know, and at that moment the freedom the single life had to offer me was the most appealing thing since Dominos bought out their hot dog stuffed crust for the first time. (Seriously D bring it back). With a mixture of sadness, grief, excitement, and relief I made my decision, like Robyn I was going to be Dancing On My Own, at least for a little while…
Skip on a few months and it is Winter 2017. I say to a friend, “I know I’m single but I don’t really feel single, you know?” Initially I didn’t feel the need to fill the gap my previous love had left, I didn’t think it was respectful to try and frantically fill his space, I mean despite my falling out of love, we had still spent 6 years in one another’s lives and I wanted there to be some space to reflect on that, to honour it, but months had passed, he had moved on, and I was starting to wonder if perhaps it was time that I should test the water…
“I think it’s time…”
“You’ve got nothing to lose” my friend said to me, “Help me set up my profile?” I replied.
Dating apps were a complete mystery to me, having been in a relationship during the birth and evolution of the swipe, I had only seen people appearing to be tapping aimlessly at phones, men and women’s faces jumping out at them as they get accepted or discarded accordingly, I had not experienced it myself. In fact, take the apps out of the equation, I didn’t even know what dating as an actual adult even consisted of?! This wasn’t fun and games anymore, I’m 25 years old, the last time I had been single I was meeting people at fresher’s events, half-cut, and dressed as a Smurf. This was brand new territory…
The response was mixed to my admission I was going to try a dating app. Some people encouraged me, mostly wanting to swipe on my behalf, some people warned me away with horror stories, and my parents envisaged me talking to an array of men twice my age with enough baggage to fill Gatwick. Me, I didn’t know what to expect, I was hopeful, but cautious all the same. What was I hoping for? I wasn't too sure, but it was new, and exciting.
What could it possibly be like to have a catalogue of (presumably) single men at my fingertips?!
I thought to myself, if nothing else, I’ll surely get some good comedic material out of this, as I picked my best pictures to display, wrote on my bio ‘New to this’, and made my first match… with Domino’s Pizza.