Despite the frustration and disappointment associated with bad dates, they can impart valuable lessons about what to avoid in future encounters. Everyone experiences off days, but the people featured in the following stories had particularly noteworthy first dates and opted to share their experiences with the entire world.

Don’t forget to check out our bonus section for a story that stands out from the ones below.

1. We were out on a date, and we had been seeing each other for a while, close to a year maybe. She gets a phone call, and suddenly she looks destroyed. Her fiancé had just died in a motorcycle accident.
2. Accidentally texted “on the worst date of my life” to the girl I was on a date with.
3. I went on a first date to the zoo, and at the gate, he asked me if I would mind paying for my own ticket, and I said I would. Then he pulled out a 2-for-1 voucher, so I paid for my ticket and he went in for free.
4. I went on a date with a guy I’d met through a mutual friend. Things seemed normal until we sat and waited for the movie to start. He got his phone out and started showing me pictures of 2 of his ex-girlfriends.
5. I’m waiting in line at the bank and the guy in front of me is flirting with the teller. I can tell she’s digging it. He asks her if he can take her out and she says, “With what? The whole $11.96 you’ve got in your account?”