When Emma from Dundalk walked into the First Dates restaurant, she wasn't expecting rainbows and fireworks.
"I don't believe in, oh, there were sparks straight away!" she told the camera. "It takes a bit of effort to light a fire."
However, when she and Bryon sat down for their date, he quickly passed her first test.
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Glancing at the menu, the archaeologist from Wexford said, "Surely we have to go for dessert, don't we?" It was ticked boxes all round, marking a good start to the date.
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Later in the evening, after a date full of flirty banter and getting to know each other, Emma explained over dessert that it was a "really big treat" for her, as she usually eats "really clean all the time".
She went on to say that she's lost six stone since 2020, having turned to fitness after her career went sideways.
"I think because once my veterinary nursing career was down the toilet, I was like, well, if I 'm not working towards my dream career, I'm going to work on my health", she said.
However, Emma developed habits that were unhealthy, and left her more low than before. "I think I just felt like I wasn't good enough. You can lose lots of weight but you really have to work on yourself."
She told Byron that she "ended up quite sick", eventually fainting from lack of food while in work. "I was carted off in an ambulance and I didn't know at the time why."
Explaining her thinking in this time, she said: "I'd be like, step on the scale, oh, I've lost weight, not eating works! Next day you go again." During this period of extreme dieting, she would eat just an apple when she was hungry, far below the recommended diet of 2,000 calories a day for women, which includes a variety of food groups.
"Then it became a game where it was like how long can I go without eating anything?" she recalled.
Then severely malnourished, she "lost the use" of her legs and couldn't walk for 24 hours.
"It was a turning point as well. I'd just like, battered my body trying to lose weight and there's obviously more to life than losing weight. There's more to my being than losing weight", she said.
"My body was basically going 'stop! Please stop this! This is your final warning.'"
She found her way to recovery through sport, finding a coach who could teach her how to exercise properly and eat well. "I'd go really quiet and they'd be like, Emma needs to eat, she has no personality!" she laughed.
"We made healthy progress with it and now it's very much a part of who I am and I have to say it's completely changed my life."
Emma's openness about her struggles and how she overcame them inspired Byron to share his experience with depression, which he has received treatment for over the years. "I've never let it define who I am and I've never talked about it, didn't want to talk about it that much because I didn't want to upset anyone", he said.
By the end of their sweet date, it was no surprise that this match was a winner.
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