Singleton uses dating app to find man to help her with DIY
- last month
A singleton used dating apps to find a man to help her with DIY - and repaid her date by making him dinner.
Clare Rea, 31, was attracted to the handyman she spotted on Hinge for more than his good looks and charm.
She went on two dates with him before mentioning she was struggling to build a coffee table - hoping he'd offer his services.
Knowing it was a 13-step job, she was delighted when he said he'd help put it together for her and spent three-and-a-half hours building it.
After realising just how long the job was taking, Clare decided to cook him dinner and the pair cuddled up on the sofa afterwards - but their relationship didn't go any further.
Clare, a plus-sized model, from New York City, US, said: “It was really important for me to bring fun back into dating - and if that looks like recruiting a man to set up your table, so be it!
"To be honest, it was actually his idea - he went into it very confident, I think because he wanted to be Mr. Man.
“He was a part-time handyman, and told me he’d been taking night classes in woodwork - it felt like it was meant to be.
“I cooked dinner and he built the table - but I did start to feel bad after three hours.”
Clare had been using Hinge on-and-off since it first launched in February 2013.
Her success rate wasn’t very high and reached a point where she didn’t want to look for anything long-term.
She claims singletons use dating apps for all sort of things these days - including finding someone to help with your DIY - and it’s all about having fun.
After meeting the 31-year-old tradesman in February 2024, she decided she wanted to go on a couple more dates with him.
“I certainly didn’t go into a conversation with this guy with the intention of him building me a table,” she added.
“We didn’t actually know each other very well.
“It was a third date and he came to pick me up before taking me for drinks.
“I want to put a disclaimer out there that I would not share my address with anyone on a first date.”
The pair had been making small-talk while he was waiting for Clare to get ready.
He spotted a big box in her entryway - and asked her what it was for.
She said: “I told him I needed to build this table - to be honest, it’d been sitting in my entryway for about four months.
“He saw it there when he was picking me up and he was like ‘what is that?’
“I think he thought he was going to come in and be the hero.”
Clare says the accordion-style sliding table had “many” components to it - which her date didn’t realise.
Clare says he had no idea just how “involved” the process was going to be - and she even ended up having to finish the table herself.
“He really didn’t grasp the full scope of the task,” she said.
“It was three-and-a-half hours long.
“It ended up being a 13-step project - but he’s a handyman so he went into this very confidently.
“I mean, it’s what he does.”
Clare's Hinge date came to pick her up at 9.30pm - and left at 1am when the task was complete
Clare Rea, 31, was attracted to the handyman she spotted on Hinge for more than his good looks and charm.
She went on two dates with him before mentioning she was struggling to build a coffee table - hoping he'd offer his services.
Knowing it was a 13-step job, she was delighted when he said he'd help put it together for her and spent three-and-a-half hours building it.
After realising just how long the job was taking, Clare decided to cook him dinner and the pair cuddled up on the sofa afterwards - but their relationship didn't go any further.
Clare, a plus-sized model, from New York City, US, said: “It was really important for me to bring fun back into dating - and if that looks like recruiting a man to set up your table, so be it!
"To be honest, it was actually his idea - he went into it very confident, I think because he wanted to be Mr. Man.
“He was a part-time handyman, and told me he’d been taking night classes in woodwork - it felt like it was meant to be.
“I cooked dinner and he built the table - but I did start to feel bad after three hours.”
Clare had been using Hinge on-and-off since it first launched in February 2013.
Her success rate wasn’t very high and reached a point where she didn’t want to look for anything long-term.
She claims singletons use dating apps for all sort of things these days - including finding someone to help with your DIY - and it’s all about having fun.
After meeting the 31-year-old tradesman in February 2024, she decided she wanted to go on a couple more dates with him.
“I certainly didn’t go into a conversation with this guy with the intention of him building me a table,” she added.
“We didn’t actually know each other very well.
“It was a third date and he came to pick me up before taking me for drinks.
“I want to put a disclaimer out there that I would not share my address with anyone on a first date.”
The pair had been making small-talk while he was waiting for Clare to get ready.
He spotted a big box in her entryway - and asked her what it was for.
She said: “I told him I needed to build this table - to be honest, it’d been sitting in my entryway for about four months.
“He saw it there when he was picking me up and he was like ‘what is that?’
“I think he thought he was going to come in and be the hero.”
Clare says the accordion-style sliding table had “many” components to it - which her date didn’t realise.
Clare says he had no idea just how “involved” the process was going to be - and she even ended up having to finish the table herself.
“He really didn’t grasp the full scope of the task,” she said.
“It was three-and-a-half hours long.
“It ended up being a 13-step project - but he’s a handyman so he went into this very confidently.
“I mean, it’s what he does.”
Clare's Hinge date came to pick her up at 9.30pm - and left at 1am when the task was complete