A TikToker went viral after sharing why he decided to “dine and dash” during a Hinge date, leaving his date and her friend with the bill.
If you’ve ever used dating apps, you probably know first dates are always a gamble. But for TikTok user John @_johnnyamerica, that gamble definitely didn’t pay off. In a video posted last week, he reveals why he made the quick exit.
According to John, the date started innocently enough. After connecting on Hinge, he suggested a casual lunch—perhaps sushi or a salad. But his date had different plans: “This woman comes back with, ‘I want hibachi.’ And I was like, ‘Hibachi?’ And she’s like, ‘Yeah, I want Hibachi.’ OK, I guess,” he recounted in the video.
Why did he dine-and-ditch the Hinge date?
However, the date took an unexpected turn when his date arrived with a friend in tow. “Both of these women start ordering a bunch of drinks. And I’m like, OK. And then they start ordering appetizers,” John said in the video.
But it didn’t stop there. “The cook, he goes, what do you want? And I go, I would like just chicken and rice. Easy, I’m a simple man. The girls go, we want surf and turf.” It became increasingly clear to John that he was being set up to foot a hefty bill. “I’m just kind of enjoying the moment, but I know what the heck’s going on,” he remarked.
When the time came to settle the check, the girls insisted on putting everything on one tab. This was the final straw for the TikToker, who says he excused himself to the restroom but instead made a beeline for his car and drove home. In his TikTok, he declared, “You think I’m stupid? I’m not. You paid my bill. Thanks.”
Since its upload, the video has garnered over 3.3 million views, with many users going to the comment section to express their agreement with the TikToker’s read of the situation.
One user wrote, “I feel like they have done this before..” while another added, “Good for you! She was crazy for ordering all that and bringing a friend.”
A third commenter said, “Normalize men dashing dates when red flags be flyin’.”
The following day, John posted a follow-up video addressing the aftermath of his “dine and dash” date. Concerned that the hibachi restaurant might have been left to cover the tab, he says he visited the restaurant the next day to check. The hibachi cook informed him that another man had come in about 30 minutes after John left and paid the bill for the women.
In the follow-up video, John expressed disbelief at the situation. “These two suckers called another idiot to come pay their bill, and this idiot actually did. There’s no saving them. They’re not good people,” he concluded.
Similar discussion about dating etiquette and financial expectations on first dates happened on other social media platforms like Reddit. In one thread titled, “If your date only orders expensive things, would you pick up the bill?” Redditors shared their perspective.
One of them shared, “I had a woman order food to go ‘for her roommate’ on a first date. I complimented her on how nice that was… then told the waiter to bring separate checks.”
“I wouldn’t take a date to a place I couldn’t afford,” a second added.
@_johnnyamerica I dined and dashed on a hinge date. Am I wrong for this? #hinge #date #storytime #fypシ゚viral ♬ original sound – _johnnyamerica
“I’d pay the bill, but it might be the last date,” one more remarked.
The Daily Dot has reached out to John via Instagram direct messages for comment.
