We love First Dates Ireland for it's wholesome moments; the romantic gestures, the sparks flying across candlelight, the rushed phone calls to friends in the bathroom, and even the awkward moment when the daters struggle with the push and pull of the front door.
The best bit, though, has to be the vulnerability of the daters and how open and honest they can be while sitting across from a total stranger.
On last night's episode, we were introduced to once such dater: Effy Murphy, a former Mrs Ireland who went through an extreme physical transformation over the past two years following gastric sleeve surgery which resulted in an 11 stone weight loss.
He walked straight into that one! 🙈 Find out if Paul can turn this one around, Thursday at 9:30pm on RTÉ2 and @rteplayer ❤️ #FirstDatesIRL pic.twitter.com/teTOs9A19i
— RTÉ2 (@RTE2) February 16, 2022
The 37-year-old Cork woman was paired with 40-year-old traffic manager Paul from Wexford but, unfortunately, the two hit a bit of a speed bump early on in their dinner.
Speaking about reality TV, Effy brought up the topics of Botox and cosmetic surgery. Paul jumped on the topic, saying: "I don't know how people get Botox, just age gracefully, like..."
To which Effy replied, smiling, "I've had Botox."
The Cork woman went on to explain that she had transformed herself through cosmetic surgery over the past two years, going from size 22 to a size 10 due to a gastric sleeve surgery she received in Turkey.
"The weight doesn't just magically fall off you but I worked my ass off, and in 12 months there was some difference," she told the cameras.
The decision to make such a dramatic change to her body came following a doctor's appointment in 2019. At the time, Effy had planned to move to New Zealand with her daughter, Aisling, and her then-husband.
"The immigration said no, basically, and that I was a health hazard to the system," she told RTÉ LifeStyle. "They gave me three months to lose weight - that would have been December 2018 - and I lost the weight by doing a liquid diet and they granted me a visa in the end."
Unfortunately, Effy's marriage came to an end soon after and she ended up returning to Ireland and regaining the weight she had lost and more. It was then that she decided "enough was enough".
"Having the surgery, you really do need to be mentally prepared for it," she explained. "You're changing everything that you know and everything that you love and even the people around you change during the surgery so its a lot to take in. But I'd do it all over again."
Speaking on people's reactions to her cosmetic surgery and treatments, including her date Paul's, Effy insisted that she doesn't worry about what people will think.
"Everybody has an opinion on everything, don't they? You just need to respect other people's opinions. I didn't take it to heart at all, I just laughed it off. It is what it is. Everyone is different."
Thankfully, the experience hasn't put her off dating.
"First Dates was my first step," she laughed. "Then I did join Tinder and Plenty of Fish but they're definitely not for me at all, I definitely prefer the old fashion of meeting somebody in a bar. Now that everything is opening, I hope I'll have a bit of luck."
As well as getting back in the dating pool, the Mrs Diamond Ireland will be busy preparing to represent Ireland in competition in Las Vegas this Summer.
"I'm representing Ireland in the Regency International Pageant at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas in July. I'm really looking forward to that now and hoping I'll bring the crown home."
The Cork woman has been on the pageant circuit since 2016 when her daughter, who has been competing since she was a toddler, encouraged her to take part.
"I entered in 2016, it was Aisling that pushed me into it. I just did it for a laugh but I got first runner up and I couldn't believe it so I went back and gave it a proper go and I won. I've been hooked ever since."
You can watch Effy and Paul's date on First Dates Ireland on the RTÉ Player now.
If you have been affected by issues raised in this story, please visit: www.rte.ie/helplines.
