If you don't know what Tinder is, it's a popular hookup app, used by almost every college student on every campus in the world. You upload a few pictures of yourself, write something funny or witty in a bio, and you can pretty much guarantee yourself a date (or more than that) by the end of the night. If you know what Tinder is, you know that most people who use the app don't want a relationship.
I started using Tinder on Valentine's Day of 2017. I had hundreds of matches within the first few weeks, and I talked to tons of potential friends and partners a lot. Then, I swiped right on a cute boy who was painting benches. Now, nine months later, that cute boy who was painting benches is now my boyfriend.
I got this idea to interview my boyfriend about what he thought of me the first few times we talked, first few dates, impressions from my Tinder profile, and so on. This is what I learned!
Before we dive into the interview, I wanted to introduce my boyfriend. This is Andres (and I), he is 20, and studies at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee (Go Panthers), where I study as well. He's a psychology major, with a huge interest in video games, music, sports, and pop culture.
All answers are quotes from the man of the hour!
Question 1: What was your first impression of me, based on my Tinder profile?
"A normal college girl on Tinder, not much else. I didn't really think about it too much. I thought 'this girl is cute,' so I swiped right. She had an interesting profile, so I swiped right."
Question 2: What was your first impression of me, the first time we talked via text?
"That you were really cool and you were good at having a conversation. I really liked that you made as much effort into talking to me, as I did talking to you. It wasn't one-sided and I loved that about you, right off of the bat."
Question 3: What was your first impression of me, the first time we talked on FaceTime?
"Again, you were really cool and fun to talk to. I enjoyed our conversations. You were just a normal girl who I was able to have a conversation with and not feel weird."
Question 4: What did you like the most about me the first time we met, in person?
"Dude, like I just loved talking to you. We were able to bounce back and forth, and I felt like I could make fun of you and we'd been friends for a while. I was super comfortable with you already and that just made the first date so much better."
Question 5: What did you like the least about me the first time we met, in person?
"Huuuh. If I'm being 100% honest, there wasn't anything that I didn't like. In the future, there are aspects of you that I found that didn't like, but at the time, I liked you a lot and I couldn't find many flaws with you, as a person."
Question 6: In your opinion, how did the first date go? Be honest!
"Ugh, f***. I thought it was going really well, but I made the mistake of trying to get at you way too early, so it was definitely 50/50. 50% was great because you were awesome and we liked each other a lot, but 50% was s*** because I made the mistake of coming on too strong and I thought I would scare you off, but apparently I didn't."
Question 7: Did you want a second date after the first? Why or why not?
"Yes, I did, but I wasn't really thinking about that at the time too much. I was more focused on giving you a good first date and kissing you, to be worrying too much about a second date, but yes, after the first one, I definitely did want another one."
Question 8: Did you tell your friends about me? If so, what did you tell them?
"I told my roommate, Cody, because he's a great friend and him and I have had discussions about girls, and he knew I'd been talking to you for a while and I talked to you almost every day, but other than that, I didn't really tell anyone besides him."
Question 9: Did you tell your family about me? If so, what did you tell them?
"I did not tell my family about you until we'd been talking for a month (until it was super serious) and then I just told them 'Hey I'm talking to this pretty girl. Stephanie, just so you know.' I was just updating them on my life and the situation with you."
Question 10: Who did you go to for advice about me and the "we're friends, but more than friends, but we're not dating" stage?
"It was definitely my roommate and another friend I had. I didn't go in depth about the situation, but they pretty much just told me that if I wanted you, I had to do what I had to do and I shouldn't beat around the bush and string you along."
Question 11: When you came back from Florida for Spring Break, on a 1-10 scale, how happy were you to see me and why? (We were away from each other for a week and a half.)
"10, dude. I was so happy. Being as I was on a s****y trip, I was so happy to see you. It wasn't even that I wanted anything sexual, I was just so happy to have you and your positivity around to make me feel better."
Question 12: What did you tell your mom when you finally told her you were talking to a special someone?
"I don't exactly remember. Something along the lines of 'There's this girl Stephanie. She's really pretty, and we're basically dating, but we're not putting a label on things, but yeah, it's going great. I want you to meet her because I know you're going to love her.'"
Question 13: What made you realize/when did you know that you wanted to be in a relationship with me, and why?
"After you met my family because when you first met my family in a small, short time frame, I didn't think much of it, but when you and I had dinner with my mom and dad, I was like 'Holy s***, they like her, I have to make her mine.'"
Question 14: When did you know that you loved me?
"Dude, like after our second date. I tried super hard not to tell you that I loved you and it sucked not saying it because I wanted to say it so bad, but once I said it, it felt so natural and I don't want to stop telling you that until the day I die."
Question 15: Are you happy that we swiped right on each other? Why or why not?
"Oh absolutely. Because you are the coolest, most fun, funniest, most beautiful woman I have ever met. I am so happy that I met you because if I hadn't my life would still feel empty. You're literally like another version of me, except way cooler, funnier, and hotter. You're my best friend, and I have the hardest time being away from you, and if I didn't have you my life would suck."
Final thoughts from Andres:
"This interview was cool. It was like having the most stressful, yet best job interview of my life. It was also the most horrifying thing ever because you were staring me right in the eyes and I felt that if I said something wrong you'd cry. But seriously, everyone should do this with their partners. Even if you didn't meet on Tinder, just change up some of the questions; It's a fun way to express your feelings and it'll make both of you fall in love over again."
From the experience, I say that it definitely brought us closer and he is getting rewarded with one million kisses later on. I would highly recommend doing this with your partner, and even add some questions in! Happy interviewing and Happy New Year, friends!