‘In every picture he’s wearing a hat’: Philadelphia woman matches with man on Hinge. Then she looks him up on Instagram and LinkedIn
Dating someone you’ve never met can feel like a gamble, especially when you don’t share mutual friends or have any way to vet them beyond an app profile. It gets even more stressful when you don’t really know what they look like, and they have no online presence.
For one Philadelphia woman, it put her in a dilemma. In a recent TikTok video, she asked viewers whether it was worth going on a date with a man she matched with on Hinge, even though she couldn’t find a single clear photo of him anywhere online.
TikTok creator Molly (@molly.dicarlo) shared the situation in a video that has pulled in more than 237,300 views.
‘I Can’t Find Any Pictures Of Him’
Molly starts the video by explaining that she doesn’t usually talk nor date her Hinge matches.
“I usually never talk to the people that I match with on Hinge,” she says. “I play it more like hot or not.”
That changed when one man caught her attention through a prompt.
“He had his prompt as, ‘You should not go out with me if you’re a Yankees fan,’” she says. “And I slid up and said, ‘Don’t worry.’”
The conversation continued, and eventually the two moved to texting. That’s when Molly realized she didn’t actually know what he looked like.
“His Hinge profile is a picture of him, he looks cute,” she says. “And then there’s a picture of him as a child, and then there’s like five pictures of fish.”
When she asked for his Instagram, he told her he didn’t really post. The account he shared had zero photos. “I even go on the tagged pictures, there’s nothing there,” she says.
Molly then escalated her search.“I looked him up on LinkedIn,” she says. “I searched his name on Google. Can’t find any pictures of him.”
Eventually, she decided to ask directly.
“I just straight up tell him, ‘I have no idea what you look like. Can you send me a picture of yourself?’” she says.
He Did Send a Photo but It Only Raised More Questions
“He looks exactly like Bryce Harper,” she says. “Like, to the point that I put their pictures side by side.”
She says her roommate agreed, even without knowing who Bryce Harper is. The man, she adds, was thrilled by the comparison. That reaction made her skeptical.
“If you’ve never gotten that before, then this is not what you look like,” she says.
That’s when another detail clicked. “I realize every picture that I do have of him, he’s wearing a hat,” she says.
Molly admits her mind immediately went to one possibility. “I’m like, ‘Oh my God, he’s balding,’” she says.
When she asked him directly, he responded, “No, not yet.” Despite her doubts, he still wanted to meet.
“I don’t want to show up and then be like, ‘Absolutely not,’” she says. “I have no idea what this guy looks like.”
Commenters Are Split
In the comments, viewers were divided on whether Molly should take the risk.
“If MTV didn’t cancel Catfish you would be on it,” one person joked.
“There’s this brand new thing—it’s called FaceTime,” another said.
Others questioned what initially drew her in. “I can’t get past the part where that’s what got your attention,” one commenter wrote.
Some encouraged her to give it a chance. “Go on a date. If he ain’t your type, then you thank him and move on,” one person wrote. “If you get along talking/texting you should have a fun date regardless of how he looks.”
She Ends Up Going On The Hinge Date
In follow-up videos, including clips filmed during the date itself, Molly revealed that things didn’t go as hoped.
She says that when she got into his car, it smelled like marijuana, which immediately put her off. Later, during the date, she noticed him spending an unusually long time in the bathroom, long enough for her to fully review the restaurant’s strawberry cider and nachos.
Based on her updates, the chemistry never clicked, and the date fizzled out quickly.
How To Stay Safe While Online Dating
Online dating can be fun, but experts say it’s important to balance curiosity with caution. According to The Guardian, specialists recommend taking time to build trust before meeting in person and paying attention to how someone communicates early on. If something feels off, that feeling matters.
They also warn against rushing conversations on dating apps too quickly. Scammers often try to move chats to private platforms to avoid detection, so staying within app messaging can offer an extra layer of security.
Before meeting someone, it helps to talk the situation through with a friend. An outside perspective can catch red flags that are easy to miss when you’re emotionally invested.
@molly.dicarlo ?? #hinge #dilemma #phillies #dating ♬ original sound – Molly DiCarlo
As for first dates, experts suggest meeting in public places, sharing your plans with someone you trust, and having your own way home. If a date feels uncomfortable or unsafe, leaving is always an option.
The Mary Sue has reached out to Molly for additional comment.
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