There are plenty of fish in the sea, yet some still end up with a catfish— like these six guys who went on dates with girls who didn’t quite look like they did in pictures.
“I wanted to meet up after a few weeks, but she just kept making excuses.”
“I’d been talking to someone I matched with for around four to five months, and I’d actually become quite invested in our ‘relationship’. I wanted to meet up after a few weeks, but she just kept making excuses. Her reasons all seemed legitimate at the time, but maybe I was just blinded by love.
I was on the Discover page on Instagram when I saw her profile—or so I thought. It turned out the profile belonged to an influencer who was definitely not from Singapore. When I confronted her, she denied everything. It was only after I sent her a picture of the profile that she apologised and admitted to using the influencer’s pictures. I reported her profile immediately.
Honestly, I don’t even know if the person behind the catfish was a girl, guy, or even multiple people. I’ve heard of groups of girls creating fake dating profiles and talking to guys online. I personally don’t understand the appeal and think it’s disrespectful to mess with someone’s emotions like that.” Tom R.*, 25
“She was a completely different person!”
“I was talking to a girl on Tinder for a while, but when I went to meet her, she was a completely different person! I only knew it was my date because she approached me while I was waiting.
In that moment, I was too shocked to react. I didn’t know how to handle the situation, so I just carried on with the date and unmatched her after.” Benjamin L., 24
“She edited everything, from her body shape to her face.”
“She definitely looked different from her pictures. But I knew she was real because we exchanged Instagram handles prior to meeting and it wasn’t like she was completely unrecognisable when I met with her.
On her Tinder profile, I realised she had edited everything, from her body shape to her face. She wasn’t unattractive in person, but I guess she was super insecure? I’m a pretty empathetic guy, so while I was a bit confused, I also felt bad that she felt the need to edit her pictures that much. She turned out to be pretty fun and we ended up going on three dates, but it fizzled out after a while and I haven’t talked to her since.” Eshton C., 24
“I felt very cheated and used.”
“I’ve been catfished three times. All three were meant to be hookups, no strings attached. I slept with them because that was the arrangement, but I felt very cheated and used. To the girls reading this, don’t catfish; it’s stupid and disrespectful.” Bryan S.*, 26
“I was amazed at the power of a good angle and filter.”
“I have never been outright catfished, in the sense that I’ve never met someone online who was not the same person in real life. But I’ve met girls who tweaked the sh*t out of their profile pictures.
I don’t know if I felt cheated, but I was… amazed at the power of a good angle and filter. The first time this happened, I let the date run its course because the girl was cool, but now I always assume a girl will not look as good in-person compared to her pictures.” David J., 27
“I still ended up sleeping with her”
“I get that some girls are insecure, but that doesn’t give them the right to fool someone else. The first time I was catfished, I still ended up sleeping with her, but halfway through, I stopped and said: “Sorry, I can’t continue.” I didn’t want to make her feel bad so I just said I was too tired. I even made her a toastie and chatted for a bit.
When she wanted to hook up for the second time that same night, I lied and said I was too tired and asked if she wanted to do it another time. I called her a cab (which I paid for!) and ghosted her after.” Jeremy Y.*, 26
WHY DO PEOPLE EVEN DO THIS?
Jolene Hwee, psychologist and clinical director at Womancare Psychological Services, explains why catfishing is even a thing:
“The catfish uses a false identity to gain social validation and romance to fill an emotional void. Very often, the catfish is acting out of loneliness and uses this persona to escape reality. Other reasons include dissatisfaction with their physical appearance and ongoing struggles with social connection.”
IMAGES 123RF.COM TEXT COMPILED BY CLAIRE SOONG.
