First Dates recap: Star Trek, dad jokes, and a painful eyebrow appointment
First Dates Ireland Lee and Petteri hit it off on their date at the First Dates restaurant.
After a season of successful match-making, the final episode of this season of First Dates Ireland saw another two blind daters hit it off.
This season was full of love, laughter, and vulnerability and had everything from flirty banter to second dates and some broken hearts.
On Thursday night’s episode, another eight people took a chance and rocked up to the restaurant hoping to find their match.
Two couples were successful in their search for love, with Lee and Petteri and Joe and Clarice agreeing to a second date following their successful first dates.
Ben, 20, Kildare, whose longest relationship has been five months, was first to enter the First Dates restaurant in search of a match.
A bartender whose signature cocktail is called the Taylor Spritz, Ben went behind the bar to make one for First Dates barman Neil and maître d' Mateo to try.
Hannah from Kildare was treated to a Taylor Spritz of her own when she entered the restaurant.
Sitting down to dinner, Ben spoke about the effort that went into choosing his outfit.
“My mam said to me ‘you need a blue shirt, I will buy your blue shirt for you but you have to let me pay to get your eyebrows done‘. So, I got my eyebrows done yesterday,” he told Hannah.
He described it as the most horrible experience and that he would never do it again.
“It was so painful. I was crying the whole time,” he said.
The pair spoke about their social lives, Coppers on a Monday, and college life and Hannah spoke about her love of sport and her competitive side.
While the pair enjoyed a good date, Hannah said she would go on a night out with Ben but wouldn’t meet him again romantically.
Lee, 40, from Dublin, whose last relationship was about a year ago, said he was looking for “a bear-ish man” and that he isn’t into gym bods.
He said that the most important thing to him on a date would be that the energy is compatible.
Enter Petteri from Galway, originally from Finland, who has fallen in love with Ireland.
He said that Galway is a great place to live but that he doesn’t have the opportunity to go out to places where he could potentially be chatted up because there is only one gay bar.
“If I really fancy someone, there’s a lot of focus on them. So if I fall silent and look at them, that’s usually a sign that I might be interested,” he said.
The pair spoke about Star Trek, their past relationships, and coming out to their families.
Petteri spoke about how he often finds himself planning a life with a potential partner and tends to drop the ‘L’ word first in a relationship.
He also shared how he lost his brother, who passed away at the age of 13, describing him as his whole life at the time.
Lee offered to take care of the bill and Petteri said he would buy the drinks… with Lee interjecting: “On the cruise, when we get married”.
The pair said they would like to see each other again romantically, with ideas already flowing for a second date.
Pat, 59, from Wicklow, entered the First Dates restaurant for his first ever blind date.
Pat spoke of his love of paragliding, despite a fear of heights, and said it’s been something he has been doing for years.
Catherine, from Dublin, who enjoys working out, said she was looking for someone energetic.
Originally from France, Catherine moved to Ireland in 1999.
She described French men as a little more romantic and said Irish men tend to have an attitude of ‘ah sure, let’s go to the pub and see how it goes’.
On the date, Pat spoke about the passing of his wife and raising his daughters after her passing.
He lost his wife when she was just 47 after she was diagnosed with cancer.
Catherine shared with Pat that she was previously married but divorced in 2015.
While Catherine said she would like to see him again, Pat said he wouldn’t go on a second date as there was “just something that wasn’t there”.
Joe from Kildare said he loved being loved and giving love, describing it as gratifying.
Clarice, who made a smooth entrance into the restaurant, admitted that she is far from smooth when it comes to dating.
She described herself as terrible at flirting and said she doesn’t date as she attracts the wrong type of people on dating apps.
She opened up on the date about a previous long term relationship in which she lived with her ex partner for eight years and spoke of the commitment it takes to live with someone for that long.
Joe spoke about how he wanted to be an actor and that he now does stand-up comedy, but refused to give Clarice his opening line as it cringes him out too much.
Inviting Clarice to come see him live, she responded: “Just give me a time and date and I’ll be there”.
Clarice shared her love of music and her passion for singing and playing guitar.
She also shared that she has a black belt in karate, jokingly warning Joe not to get on her bad side.
After the date, Clarice shared how much she enjoyed it, saying they could have sat and talked for another 10 hours.
Clarice described herself as a romantic and said she likes “the cliche stuff” because she had never experienced it before.
Surprised to hear that Clarice had never received flowers before, Joe said: “Oh man, I need to get you some flowers”.
The pair both said they would like to see each other again romantically.
