Woman goes on a date with a man who ghosted her. Then he reveals the real reason he never called her back: ‘You’re just not as attractive in person’
So, he wanted a re-match?
Ghosting someone after a first date can be awkward enough. Liking that same person’s dating profile months later, matching with her again, and then pretending not to remember the date is an entirely different level of confusing.
TikToker Carly (@www.icarly.com___) says that’s exactly what happened after she matched with a man earlier this year. Their first attempt fizzled when he disappeared despite already discussing a second date. However, months later, the same man apparently swiped his way straight back into her dating life.
“If you’re wondering what dating is like in the year 2026, I have story time for you,” Carly said at the beginning of her October 2 TikTok. The video had accumulated more than 70,000 views when The Daily Dot reported on it.
He planned date two before date one even happened
Carly said she wasn’t particularly responsive when the pair initially matched because she was dealing with a hectic period between jobs. The man apparently remained interested, sometimes sending two or three messages before she responded.
Their conversations eventually moved to text and Snapchat. The TikTok poster said she sent him unfiltered photos and videos there, as she assumed he was probably just trying to appease his catfish worries. Dating apps already produce plenty of awkward first-date surprises, but Carly’s dating experience with this one man became somewhat of a recurring event.
After a couple of weeks, he arranged a Thursday date. Then, on Wednesday night, he was already trying to schedule another one for Friday, despite not having met in person yet.
She also claimed he routinely showered her with compliments and sent “good morning beautiful” or “good morning gorgeous” texts. Their actual date was fine, Carly said, although hardly her favorite. Before leaving, he hugged her and apparently reiterated that they would make plans for the following day.
Then the energy abruptly changed. Carly said he didn’t check whether she’d made it home after her 30-minute drive and didn’t contact her until 2 p.m. the next day. When she asked whether their second date was still happening, she got no response. Carly deleted him and moved on.
Months later, her ghost came swiping back
Months later, Carly returned to the dating app. The first profile waiting for her belonged to none other than the man who had ghosted her.
Not only had he apparently deleted his previous account and created another one, but Carly says he had liked her profile again. “So, me being petty, I matched with him,” she admitted.
She greeted him by pointing out how funny it was to see him there. His response added another layer to an already strange reunion, initially behaving as though he had no idea who she was.
Carly reminded him about the compliments, their date, his premature second-date planning, and subsequent disappearing act. Suddenly, his memory returned. He admitted that he hadn’t enjoyed their date before telling her, “Honestly, you’re just not as attractive in person as you are in your pictures.”
She wasn’t particularly bothered that he hadn’t been attracted to her. Carly’s issue was why he hadn’t simply said he wasn’t interested instead of ghosting her, especially after meeting her in person. “In my opinion, if you’ve met somebody in person and you’ve gone on a date with them and you’re not feeling it, don’t ghost them,” she said.
Nevertheless, the comment about her appearance got into her head enough that she spent the following week asking people she knew whether she looked like her photos. According to Carly, the overall answer was yes. Ultimately, she wished the man well and unmatched him, ending their unexpected second match before it could turn into date number two. “If you didn’t find me attractive, why the f*** did you match with me a second time?” she capped off the TikTok.
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