IT took five minutes for Ellie Parrott to realise the stranger she was talking to was the one for her. But she was not chatting to Mike Wickham on a dating app. The pair were at a speed dating evening in Islington, North London.
The pre-school worker had signed up for the singles night in February 2022, paying £22 for the ticket, after splitting with her long-term boyfriend. Mike, 39, who works in media, had been off the dating scene for a while but decided to give the event a go. Ellie, 28, says: “I’d recently come out of a long-term relationship and the idea of meeting men on apps filled me with dread.
“I’d heard horror stories from friends and knew it wasn’t for me. Speed dating seemed more sociable and fun. “Mike was date number 12 and I instantly found him very attractive.
“It turned out we had plenty in common, like a shared passion for travel, and he came from just down the road from me. “Within five minutes, I knew we were a match.” After heading to a nightclub, they ended up on the dancefloor together and the rest is history .
“We’ve been a couple for more than two years and we’re talking about moving in together,” says Ellie. “I could have spent hours on apps, so I feel very lucky to have met Mike in person. “You can’t beat sensing that immediate physical spark.
” Once hailed as the modern way to find true love, digital dating is increasingly losing its attraction. Last year just a quarter of women aged 18 to 34 used a dating app, c.
