Lying about your looks online will not win you love

The internet is the source of all evil. There is a crowded assembly of deluded liars on local online dating sites.

My friend can attest to that. Following a streak of disappointing flings from over-the-bar hookups, he finally decided to bite the bullet and give online dating a go as a last resort.

After scouring through a couple of profiles, he came across one that he thought was intriguing. It was a profile of a “bubbly” 25-year-old who “does not take life too seriously” and was “looking for her knight in shining armour,” complete with a famous quote about life.

She gave the impression that she had a sense of humour and a modicum of intelligence.

The only problem was that there was no photo attached to the profile. He was a little hesitant about engaging a person whom he could not put a face to, but eventually put his fears aside and sent her an email.

The response was prompt. After a couple of back and forth emails, he asked her to send a picture of herself. She politely declined citing discretion. He did not wish to intrude, so he left it at that. He sat back and weighed his options.

His post-work routine of workout, a spartan meal and movies suddenly felt mundane and the prospect of dressing up and getting out of the house to meet someone new over a nice dinner and drinks was very appealing. At the very least, he asked her to describe herself.

She told him she was 5’6” in height and a size eight. He thought he had hit the jackpot and quickly set up a date for that evening.

He arrived at the bar early. After what seemed like eons, she messaged him announcing her arrival. But he was taken aback. The woman walking towards him couldn’t possibly be the same one he had been corresponding with via email.

She was at least a size 16 and not that tall. Much to his disappointment, she went ahead and introduced herself as his date.

He felt cheated, understandably so.

I understand why you would need to embellish yourself for online dating sites, but claiming you are half the size you actually are is taking it too far.

It is definitely not a little white lie that you are going to get away with. You should never misinterpret yourself online. The people who seek love on the internet want to meet people who fall within certain parameters and will not be too thrilled to realise that they were taken for a ride.

A person has slogged his way through dredges of humanity and finally settled on you, only to end up meeting someone who is a far cry from what they had in mind.

I want to believe that the lady in question thought my friend would be so enthralled by her personality that he would overlook the fact that she stretched the truth. He wasn’t.

He immediately wrote her off as a shady person and did not take it any further. Always present the best version of yourself but do not exaggerate or lie. It will never work out.

@RoxanneKenya

www.facebook.com/RoxanneKe

nancierox373@gmail.com