When it comes to finding love, especially for single moms, online dating can be an awesome way to find a special someone. Recent research indicates that now, about 20 years after the first online dating sites started, most people think online dating is a good way to meet people. One in five people in the 25-34 age range have tried online dating, sometimes with great success. But, let's be honest, the success stories aren't nearly as entertaining as the total fails.
More from CafeMom: 16 Online Dating Stories So Freaky We Want to Quit the Internet
Dating as a single mom is not easy. And one would think that dating online would give single moms the ability to catch bad signs early. I mean, all the red flags should be clearly there on a guy's profile, right? Well, not exactly. Even the most discerning mom might find herself on a date from hell with a guy who is 100 percent trash. Believe us.
More from CafeMom: 10 Signs a Marriage Is Really Over
So, let's read on for some of the craziest online dating stories from moms who went on the Internet to find love and found, well, total weirdos instead. The good news is that most of these daters have since found love. The bad news? These guys are still out there somewhere …
Image via Martin Dimitrov/iStock.com
Anger Issues
"He meowed at me (first date from online meeting). Then proceeded to tell me how he was an angry youth and had lots of anger-management trouble in high school.
For some stupid reason, we went on a second date, during which he got mad at me for 1) insisting I meet him there and 2) not agreeing to go to his company Christmas party (that was six months away). He also was mad when I told him I thought we had different interests and there wouldn't be a third date." — E.J., Saint Paul, Minnesota
Sex Addict
"After a nasty divorce because my husband cheated on me with basically every woman he met, I finally got up the courage to start dating again. So imagine my delight when on my FIRST post-divorce date with a guy from eHarmony, he revealed that he was a sex addict and was in a day rehab program for the next 30 days.
Kudos to him for getting help, but DUDE, why are you still dating right now?" — H.D., Tucson, Arizona
Stoner Daily
"I met a guy online who seemed really nice, and it was cool that he also had kids. We decided to meet up for coffee, and it was going well until he casually mentioned that he was a daily pot smoker and that he thought 'being mellowed out' helped him parent better. Um? Nope." — K.O., Madison, Wisconsin
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Hot Head
"We were going to go to a college football game. The team was pretty good and you couldn't get a ticket to the game, but my brother gave me his tickets. We got there and all this guy did was complain about how we should have sold them to a scalper and bought better seats.
Then, I was starving, having just come from work. Nope, he wanted to go straight to my apartment after. I literally ran out of the car and in the door so he couldn't get in the front door of the building. I think one of the neighbors called the police because he was out there forever!" — J.J., Saint Paul, Minnesota
Ditched in Texas
"Okay, so this story goes way back to when the Internet was still 'new.' This would have been 1995 or very early 1996. I was hanging out on this dating chat room type thing (not unlike Match.com or similar) and met this guy from Austin, Texas. Online we had tons of chemistry and we communicated constantly via email.
We emailed for a few months and he invited me to fly out to Austin to see him. I look back on this now and think, 'What the hell was I thinking flying halfway across the country to meet some person I don't really know anything about and who could be an ax murderer for all I know,' but you know, youth and all.
So, I fly out to Austin and he picks me up. It turns out that in person, we have ZERO chemistry. None. Zilch. At least on my end. But he CLEARLY has expectations that things will be physical. Fortunately, he didn't force me or anything, but once it became clear that there would be no shenanigans, he left me.
That's right. HE LEFT ME. He said his mom called and that he had to go home to a funeral three hours away and LEFT ME IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, IN HIS APARTMENT WITH NO CAR AND KNOWING NO ONE. (Oh, he did say I could have some of his weed, which was in a bag under the sink in the kitchen.)
I called my mother and she paid for me to change my flight, I called a cab that took me to the airport, and I flew home. I was there less than 24 hours.
I look back on this story and can't believe it actually happened to me." — L.N., St. Louis, Missouri
The Ex Factor
"I joined this local online dating site that threw social events. I got an invite to a happy hour and it said, basically, there will be a user named 'happydude123' there who you seem compatible with. I hadn't been very actively dating since I was busy with kid stuff, but I decided to go and see what it was like.
I showed up and there were like 10 people there and one of them was my ex! You guessed it, he was 'happydude123,' and yes, we did have a lot in common! Like two kids and a mortgage and eight years of history. So awkward." — R.R., Ogden, Utah
Mr. Cooper?
"I had my daughter during college but had been single since she was born. After I graduated with my degree in English, my mom convinced me it was time to start dating again. So I signed up for a dating site and got matched with an older guy. We chatted online for a while and discovered we both loved reading and British movies. We finally decided to swap photos and it was Mr. Cooper. My high school English teacher Mr. Cooper.
Technically there would be nothing inappropriate about us going out now, but it was just too weird for both of us to contemplate." — M.A., Colorado Springs, Colorado
The Racist
"A long time ago, I met a guy online who liked that I spoke German. Turned out he was a neo-Nazi. Found out when we went out to a fast food restaurant, and he spent a long time talking about how much he hates the French." — A.B., Tampa, Florida
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The Converter
"I had just joined an online dating site for Christians. I started chatting with a guy who seemed nice enough, so I gave him my phone number. He called me and we chatted for a little while. He seemed cool with the fact that I had a kid, which not everyone on the site was.
About five minutes into the conversation, he started asking me all these questions about why I wasn't Catholic and if I would consider becoming Catholic to date someone. I was like 'I'm Lutheran, I'm cool with being Lutheran, let's talk about something else,' but he wouldn't let up. He was quoting Bible verses at me, telling me why the whole Protestant Reformation was a 'sham,' just going on and on. I couldn't even get a word in edgewise, so I just hung up on him.
I ended up getting a very snotty message from him that he was going to pray for me to 'see the light.' I can't imagine why he was still single." — W.T., Tucson, Arizona
The Licker
"Met an English professor via online chat. He wooed me with words. During a makeout session on the second date, he mentions that the underarm is an erotic zone. Then he licks mine. Turns out he has a severe allergy to aluminum, which is in deodorant. I gave him a Benadryl and excused myself. He survived, I guess. It was an awakening on many levels." — S.B., Huntsville, Alabama
Stood Up
"I got stood up for a date with a guy I met through an online website for plus-size people. I was so mad: I had paid for a babysitter, had gotten my nails done, was feeling cute waiting at the coffee shop, and he just never came.
When I got home, I checked my messages and he said he went to the coffee shop but saw me and knew it 'wouldn't work' because I wasn't 'fat enough.' Apparently I'm too fat for regular dating sites and too skinny for plus-size sites. What is a size 18 woman supposed to do? This stuff is so depressing." — F.B., San Diego, California
The Hot Mess
"Oh boy. Yeah, so I was on a dating site and saw a picture of a super cute guy who has two kids, just like me. We started chatting online and then met for dinner. It was going well until he revealed that his ex was BARELY his ex. Like, they had broken up less than two weeks ago and he was still living at their house. She had apparently cheated on him, and he started crying about it at dinner.
I know breakups are hard, but c'mon, maybe don't dive back into the dating pool the same week you get dumped." — O.W., Wichita, Kansas
The Clinger
"I met a guy on Match.com and went on one date, which was fine and fun. We planned a second date but I told him that I had to travel for work, so it would have to be in a week or so. I got home and he started texting me nonstop about our second date and got annoyed that I wanted to spend my first night back with my kids instead of him.
I like the interest, but get a grip! My kids come first." — G.S., Brooklyn Center, Minnesota
The Grinder
"I met a super cute guy on Tinder and we hooked up a few times on nights my kids were at their dad's house. It was casual but fun so I suggested to my gay friend that he should try it with Grindr. We got a bottle of wine and started looking for someone cute for him and, lo and behold, MY cute recent hookup was there. And was VERY willing to share naked pictures. Yikes." — T.R., Portland, Oregon
