The second series of First Dates Ireland is hitting our screens on Thursday night, so to get us in the mood for love we've rounded up some of our favourite dates from the first season.
1. Sarah and Brian send Twitter alight
Sarah and Brian's date made waves on Twitter for all the wrong reasons, but it made for incredibly compelling TV. The outgoing duo had a number of cringe-worthy exchanges, not least when overeager Brian heaped on the compliments to an embarrassed Sarah.
"You are absolutely gorgeous," he gushed. "You look lovely, honestly, you really do!"
Sarah interjects to ask him to "just let me order" and he asks her if she needs some "Sarah time," then loudly draws attention to himself and his date by addressing the rest of the restaurant while his date hides behind her hands.
2. Gemma: "I think we know each other" Mark: "Oh no"
This is worst nightmare stuff. You go on a date with someone years earlier, it doesn't work out, and then you are forced to sit through another date. On national television. Such was the case for Mark and Gemma. Gemma first cops that they might know each other, while Mark stares blankly at her, before recoiling and answering "Oh no". When she tells him "this is not our first date", Mark is taken aback but still apparently doesn't remember. Awkwaaaaaard. Could only happen in Ireland!
"I think we know each other....." Things are getting interesting in tonight's #FirstDatesIrl 9.30pm RTÉ2https://t.co/p6yDpwIyG3
— RTÉ2 (@RTE2) April 28, 2016
3. Darryl brutally friend zones Amy
Oh, the cruelty. Poor Amy from Wexford suffered a sharp shock when Kildare landscape architect Daryl brutally put her in the friend zone. The affable pair seemed to be getting along like a house on fire, with plenty of giggles and even a pretend smooch from Daryl for the cameras. When it came down to the crunch, however, Daryl said he thinks they'll definitely hang out together, "but more just as friends". For god's sake! You could actually see the moment the poor girl's heart broke. Ouch.
4. "I'm going to choke, I'm actually about to choke because of you"
South African model Federica was a force to be reckoned with on her date with Donegal man Lee, insisting that he apply hand sanitizer before they chowed down on their meals, but the most memorable moment had to be when she asked him to guess her age. Lee should have known he was treading on thin ice, but he barrelled ahead and guessed "29, maybe 30", to an aghast Federica. She replied, stony-faced, "I'm 25," while Lee dug himself deeper into the hole when he replied "you don't seem like a 25-year-old".
5. "You smell like my granddad"
This exchange between Laura and Conor was incredibly heartwarming and sweet . . . right up to the moment when she declares that he smells like her late grandfather. After Laura and Conor shyly admitted that they would like to see one another again they shared a warm hug, and it all goes downhill from there. She tells him "in a really nice way you kinda smell like my granddad" before going on to say "he died a few years ago,", which, quite rightly, causes a look of terror to wash across his face.
Watch First Dates Ireland at 9.30pm on RTÉ2 from Thursday, January 19.
