It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for. After over 200 applications and as many hours of matchmaking, student experiences from the first King’s Goes Dating are finally here! But was it love at first sight for our couples, or an immediate press of the “Leave call” button? Read all about how some King’s students fared:

Jack, Film and Will, Geography

  

What were your first impressions of your date?

Jack: “My first impression was “oh hello again” – because apparently there are only 5 gay people at KCL, and I not only already knew Will, but we’ve actually already been on a date! It was at the beginning of March, and then this huge world event happened, not sure if you heard about it? But it essentially put date two off the table, and we hadn’t really spoken since, so it was nice to catch up! Both of us had no idea the first date had been so close to the beginning of lockdown 1. We were both clearly oblivious to the world ending, so it was nice catching each other up about the ways we were both traumatised by this year.”

Will: “My first impressions of Jack were that we had in fact already been on a date a the legendary Elephant and Castle.”

Was your date your usual ‘type’?

Jack: ” I don’t really have a type (progressive king!) but if I did I would say my type is mostly “cool” boys, which can sometimes be a nightmare, as there’s only so many times I can listen to an EP of lo-fi beats! But also I’m ready to take a bullet for anyone more than 2 inches taller than me. Will was a good mix of both! He is definitely cool- good taste in techno and some gnarly sounding club stories- and also tall! So a promising start.”

Will: “He’s TikTok famous so yes.”

How did your date go? Any awkward moments or sparks flying?

Jack: “Similar to date one, we talked pretty much the whole time and kept finding topics to discuss, like bad date stories and of course Season 4 of The Crown (*shrugs in gay*). We got on well and any awkwardness was only because my wifi cut out, at which point I would just chug some red wine and wait for it to come back. Healthy lockdown coping mechanisms!”

Will: “The date went excellently, I got a flat tour, met the housemates and finished a bottle and a half of wine. We also have the same Ikea wardrobe.”

Would you go on a second date?

Jack: “Well, this is technically already our second date, but Will seems like a chill guy so I would be down to get another pint… dare I say it… outside!? Who knows what the future holds but I think we could at least hit the club.”

Will: “A *third* date was proposed.”

Shey, Liberal Arts and Rhys, Political Economy

What were your first impressions of your date?

Shey: “He was sweet!”

Rhys: “She seemed pretty interesting and we had a bit in common.”

How did your date go? Any awkward moments or sparks flying?

Shey: “It was good! We spoke a lot. A bit awks at times but I guess it’s because it was on Zoom.”

Rhys: “Fairly well, I thought we clicked but probably more on a potential friendship level than anything more.”

Was it weird having a date on Zoom instead of in person?

Shey: “Yes! Sometimes we’d cut each other off and stuff.”

Rhys: “A little bit, yeah.”

Would you go on a second date?

Shey: “I feel like the vibe was super friendly, so probably not.”

Rhys: “She was really nice and, while we had interests in common, I’m not sure our personalities are enormously compatible so I’d have to say no. I’d like to wish her luck for the future, though!”

Hamish, Biochemistry and Yasmine, Law

What were your first impressions of your date?

Hamish: “Intelligent and easy-going.”

Yasmine: “Pretty good, I thought he looked kind of a hippie Jack Sparrow but in a good way (don’t tell him).”

How did your date go? Any awkward moments or sparks flying?

Hamish: “Talking non-stop for three hours only felt like one, so very well.”

Yasmine: ” I was overall very happy with the experience, we ended up talking for three hours about nothing and everything. I didn’t think it was awkward, sometimes there were pauses, but we had a lot of things in common and a lot of differences, which made it more enjoyable to exchange opinions about various topics such as astronomy, culture, religion, family, etc.”

Was it weird having a date on Zoom instead of in person?

Hamish: “A little at first but it was all good.”

Yasmine:” It was definitely harder to think of it like a date since I felt more like in a conference or an interview. Most of Zoom interactions are meetings, tutorials, more academic and serious stuff, so having a date on Zoom did seem a bit like this. Moreover, it’s harder to flirt because a lot of flirting is implied behaviour: exchange of looks, touch, smiles, and these subtle details are swept away in virtual communication in my opinion. It was hard to know if the person was interested in me, we still ended up having a good time though.”

Would you go on a second date?

Hamish: “Yes.”

Yasmine: “I don’t think so. I made a friend instead of a dating partner and I’m happy with that.”

Applications for King’s Goes Dating are now closed, but we’ll be getting in touch with more matches over the next few weeks to take part, so keep an eye out!

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