Two best friends walk into a restaurant, looking for love. What are the chances of them falling for the same girl?
"No, never going to happen", says Stephen, from Athlone, who stepped into the First Dates restaurant alongside best friend James, from Cavan as the first double date of the new season. "If he even kissed a girl, she's off limits."
Famous last words?
The suspense is real🤭 #FirstDatesIRL returns this Thursday at 9:35pm on RTÉ2❤️🔥 Tune in to see who is matched with who on this double date👀 pic.twitter.com/UVKHKoU73C
— RTÉ2 (@RTE2) January 2, 2024
First Dates returned to our screens in 2024 with a fresh sitting of daters hungry for romance and ready to sample the food of love. From drag artist Hassan and Finglas lad Ciaran, to Tom the bachelor farmer from Kerry and Elly, the life coach from The Netherlands, sparks and barbs alike were flying on the first night back in the First Dates restaurant.
Things were off to a good start by all accounts. Firstly, the lads each had a different dream woman in mind. James, a former banker turned giveaway show presenter, was after "instant wifey material", said James, adding, "he's trying to find the one in a million". Ask him yourself and he'd say a "small, cute, girl-next-door sort of thing".
Stephen, meanwhile, is looking for someone "bubbly" and "jokey", with "unique style" and "who can give as much as they get".
Enter Jade from Newry, looking for her "cheeky chap" and Siobhan, a fun-loving upbeat lass from Mayo. Perched at the bar together, anticipation heightened as all four daters tried to guess who had been matched with who. After a few minutes, flirty connections started to be formed.
"Me and James got on well with both of them", Stephen later told producers. "And that was actually a problem."
In the end it was Jade and Stephen and Siobhan and James, with both couples whisked away to their tables to chat the night away.
Thankfully, conversation flowed for both, with Jade opening up about her family and Stephen talking lovingly about his daughter, defying the "pretty boy" impression he initially made on Jade. At the next table over, James and Siobhan spoke about their passions and compared former dates, with James promising a romantic gesture for the ages if he scored a second date.
As long time viewers will know, it all comes out in the toilet breaks, and this episode was no different. Once both guys had sneaked away from their tables for a debrief in the mens', Stephen levelled with James.
"I thought your one was a bit of me", he said, but James wasn't fazed, saying, "I knew exactly what you were thinking so in my head, [I was] like, I hope he's wrong, I hope he's wrong". Wing men stick together, though, and neither were deterred from their dates, having forged their own bonds with two matches that suited them perfectly.
Back in the dining room, Jade and Siobhan were having their own debrief, swapping stories about how nervous and sweet James was and how Stephen wasn't what Jade expected, but even better.
By the end of the two dates, it was clear that when it comes to love, the First Dates matchmakers know their stuff, with both pairs agreeing to another date.
In true rom-com style, however, the deepest and most passionate union was between Jade and Siobhan, who emerged from their First Dates experience as BFFs.
Watch First Dates on Thursdays at 9:35pm on RTÉ2.
