Get ready for your evenings to heat up as First Dates returns to our screens!
Season 11 of the beloved dating series continued tonight with eight hopeful romantics taking their seats at the Gibson Hotel, looking for love, romance, connection and at the very least a nice meal.
Pharmacist Said, 26, from Ranelagh, comes looking for someone "a bit weird like himself" and meets "silly and goofy but smart" Creative Writing masters student Zaza, 26, from Tuscon, Arizona.
The date got off to a faltering, if sincere, start, as both daters tried to guage the vibe of their date. From starting with a hug, to shaking hands over the dinner table and Said jokingly offering to invite Zaza to a Zoom meeting, the hopeful romantics eased into a back and forth.
It seemed like there was almost an awkward chord struck when Zaza asked where Said was from, and her date teasingly suggested she was "asking me where am I really from?" which Zaza stressed she wasn't. They quickly got back into conversation, with Said saying he was born in Azerbaijan and moved to Ireland when he was just two-years-old.
"We were put with other asylum seekers in this old B&B out in Tipp, then we eventually moved up to Dublin and like, it wasn't easy because there really wasn't many immigrants around back then", he told the cameras. "It was challenging growing up but you get on with it."
Said eventually went on to get his degree in Pharmacy from Trinity College Dublin. "I was working in a pharmacy in Coolock when the Dublin riots broke out", he recalled.
"I remember people coming in and the looks I was getting just felt different. And as someone who's lived in Ireland their entire life, I love Irish culture. If someone asks me where I'm from, I say I'm Irish. I work hard for this place, I work hard for this people.
"And then to say, 'no, you don't belong here', it just doesn't feel great."
The pair swapped stories of relationships, politics and dream jobs. For Zaza, being able to "be a writer and survive" is at the top of her list. She spoke about her favourite book - Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro - and how her mom supported all of her work before she passed away.
Speaking after their date, Said said he felt "chilled out" during their time together, while Zaza found her date "very easy to talk to".
All the same, it wasn't a match for the two daters, though they promised to stay in touch.
Watch First Dates Ireland on Thursdays at 9.35pm on RTÉ2 or catch up on RTÉ Player.
