Anyone who’s had the poor fortune of engaging in modern dating with all its apps, swiping, ghosting, breadcrumbing, benching and every other way of keeping your options open will know it can be tough out there.
No longer is going for dinner, drinks, talking over Whatsapp, sleeping together and introducing someone to your friends, a high enough bar to ensure you are ‘exclusive’ unless explicitly stated. If you haven’t had ‘the chat’, forget it.
And even if you have, being exclusive doesn’t necessarily mean you can start calling each other ‘boyfriend’ or ‘girlfriend’ just yet.
It comes as no surprise then that one couple have acknowledged the seriousness of their courtship reaching ‘exclusivity’ with a baller move – taking out a space in The Times newspaper’s births, deaths and marriages column on Tuesday.
The nib reads: “Mr Adam Trouble of London SW6 and Miss Helen Ingrid Bennett of Middlesex are dating exclusively and having a lovely time xxx.”
(That sure puts paid to clicking ‘it’s complicated’ on Facebook).
Of course, it’s highly likely the ad has been placed as a joke – though we prefer to think of it as a passive aggressive move by a parent who has been told firmly: “Yes I’m seeing someone, no you cannot meet them, yes we’re getting on just fine as we are.” The three kisses in particular are a genius stroke.
But regardless, this does signals a shifting in the dating landscape. Now we’ve all got half of London at our fingertips, it’s much easier to be flippant about commitment and keep our options open right until we’re totally certain.
Meaning these days reaching exclusivity, having navigated all the obstacles along the way, is damn worth a £30 slot in The Times.