It's another night in the First Dates hotel, and the scene was set for deep connections, moving conversations and, in this case, plenty of sex positivity.
Tonight's episode saw genderqueer, non-binary, bisexual and polyamorous civil servant Bel (30) from Wicklow meets pansexual Dublin hairdresser and self-described 'adult Emo', Sam (28).
As a confident person fully embracing their identity. Bel spoke about the "judgemental looks" they receive from some passersby, but remained unfazed. "If that is the consequence of being able to live my authentic life and just be happy, I'm here, I'll take that any day."
"Gender is my playground. I'm not a man, not a woman, kind of neither, in between, a bit of everything!
As for what they were looking for, they wanted someone who isn't an a**hole or a "wet blanket". They couldn't have done better than to be matched with Sam.
"People are people, I don't really care", the hairdresser told producers. "As long as you're nice to me and we get along."
Both Bel and Sam came to their date looking for acceptance and fun, and right from the start they found they were two peas in a pod, complimenting each other's clothes and checking on about which pronouns they use.
Bel soon let Sam know that they were polyamorous non-monogamous, though Bel flagged they should have done it sooner.
"My relationships might not look like traditional relationships to everyone else", they explained. "There are two people that I really care about in my life who are both cheering me on doing this."
"Because of how society is structured there's such a belief that you have to be monogamous, you have to live together full time." Instead, Bel believes in "relationship anarchy", which is an acceptance that relationships don't have to look a certain way, but are instead agreed on between you and your partner or partners.
"Having new people come into your life who see you for you, and love you for who you are, you can't put a price on that", Bel said.
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Though not active in the community, Sam said they weren't uncomfortable with that, adding they were "quite sex positive and people positive".
For Sam, much of the "negativity" they felt about themselves was related to their gender and body dysmorphia.
"After I came out it made it easier to go and get help for my mental health. When I finally didn't feel like I had to hide this part of me, I was then able to start addressing other parts of me that definitely needed to be addressed."
The pair then spoke openly about mental health and the different ways they've worked on theirs.
Conversation soon turned to sex and sexuality, with Sam telling producers that they "don't always relate sex to emotional attraction. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do!"
Bel revealed that they're in the kink and swing community, mentioning that they and a friend held their own event for similarly minded people. "The group of us that met, we all had a talking session, this is what our boundaries are", Bel said.
"That group experience in a safe space was beautiful, and sex is beautiful."
Which such open and honest conversations, it's no wonder that Bel and Sam were an instant match. Disney-loving Sam even went as far as to joke that they would be Bel's "Beast"!
Watch First Dates on Thursdays at 9:35pm on RTÉ2.
