Get ready for your evenings to heat up as First Dates returns to our screens!
Season 11 of the beloved dating series continued tonight with eight hopeful romantics taking their seats at the Gibson Hotel, looking for love, romance, connection and at the very least a nice meal.
Even with over 75,000 followers, influencer Cloda Scanlon is just like anyone else – struggling with the ever-frustrating dating scene in Ireland. Despite sharing the vast majority of her life online, the bubbly Tipperary native told producers that she was looking for a good match like everyone else.
“I’m recording every moment of my life, I have done for ten and a half years”, she said. “That helps sometimes with dating but it definitely attracts the wrong kinds as well, sometimes, but I suppose that’s what I signed up for.”
She added: “It’s actually really exciting for me that I have no idea who’s going to walk through that door.” Having ditched the dating apps that year, she explained that she was ready to meet people “in the wild”.
Fresh from a three-day festival, Cloda strode into the First Dates restaurant, followed shortly after by chef and father of three Mons from Waterford. A self-described “fun person to be around”, he was looking for someone to match his energy.
And a woman who looked like his teenage forever-crush Kim Kardashian wouldn’t hurt, either.
The pair swapped stories of enduring situationships and break-ups, with Cloda telling producers, “it’s rough out there”. She told Mons about her year of “dating to date”, enjoying going out without putting pressure on herself to meet her soulmate.
Mons won brownie points quickly for noticing her hair and sharing his chips, while Cloda kept Mons laughing.
It was clear from early on that the date was a match, with both swapping stories about work and Mons’ experience being a young father. When asked if they wanted to meet again, it was an easy “yes”.
Watch First Dates Ireland on Thursdays at 9.35pm on RTÉ2 or catch up on RTÉ Player.