The Reservations Dating Rules

Dating rules, part two.

I wrote the first Reservations Dating Rules in May last year. You can read it here. At the time, I was completely new to the dating world, had only been on Hinge for two months, had no idea what I wanted, and was utterly overwhelmed. Like I wrote at the time, it had taken me four first dates to work out that everybody else had dating rules. I had to google things, ask around, I would text my best friend is this normal (I think a good rule on that is, if you have to ask that question, it’s definitely not).

I ended up seeking advice, some of it good, some of it terrible. Everyone has different opinions, especially on the big stuff: when should you have sex with someone you’re dating? When can you sleep over? I have now been in the dating world for a year and I’ve learned a lot. I’ve basically experienced it all: thinking you’ve fallen in love, misinterpreting the signals, ghosting, the guy who doesn’t text back for 10 weeks, the one who calls it off but then still watches your Instagram Stories, the one where it’s just about sex, the list goes on.. I’d like to think I’ve realised some stuff, so I thought it would be the right time to update The Reservations Dating Rules.