‘I was in complete shock’: New dating trend sees men asking for refunds when they don’t see a 'return on investment’ — how high costs of living have changed the rules of romance
Samantha Costanza went on a fairly unremarkable date last winter. She and her date grabbed hot ciders at a Brooklyn bar. When the bill came, her date slipped the bartender his credit card.
It was only a few days later when he followed up to suggest a second date that something remarkable happened. Costanza wasn't interested in meeting up again and spent some time crafting a polite response to her paramour.
His response? A Venmo request for her half of the ciders.
“I was in complete shock,” she told CNBC. “It made it seem like the only reason he would offer to pay for my drinks was that he expected something from me.”
Costanza isn’t the only single woman to run into an awkward moment like this. A new dating trend has been popping up, where men send money requests to women after they decline a second date. Some even express they’d like their date’s share of the bill back since they didn’t get a return on their “investment.”
In its coverage, CNBC found relationship experts and women were equally outraged by this trend — with one dating coach going so far as to call it “pathetic and unethical.” For her part, Costanza ignored her date’s Venmo request and blocked him.
A psychotherapis t cited by CNBC pointed out that this new trend could be partially due to the skyrocketing cost of living. A first date costs an average of $77 according to LendingTree — a high price to pay in a time of wage stagnation and inflation.
But maybe it’s to be expected — changing economic realities create new rules around money and dating. Here’s what you need to know if you’re still playing the field.
