Dating coach explains why a man should never split the bill on a first date

A dating coach has claimed that when it comes to picking up the bill on the first date, it should be the man who pays the lot.

Not quite the progressive and equitable future we were hopefully striding towards, but let's hear what they have to say.

Maybe it'll change depending on your date or the circumstances each of you find yourselves in.

If you know the date has gone badly, then you'll have no compunction about asking someone to pay their fair share, and if there's an earning disparity between you then that's got to be factored into the mix as well.

Anyhow, a dating coach on TikTok, who goes by the name @ask.nelly, has decided that when it comes to a first date the bloke should be paying for it - especially if he was the one who did the asking.

"No, no, no. You got your own starter but still had some of my sharing platter, you should pay for some of mine." (Getty Stock Photo)

It seems likely she knew her stance was going to be controversial since the video was captioned 'I said what I said'.

Firing away with the central argument, she said: "Men should never let a woman pay for a first date because if you're asking a girl out and then going Dutch, it just shows you're cheap."

Apparently if you don't want to split the cost of the date it'll make you look like you weren't 'raised right', are 'not chivalrous' and might be 'dating out of their price range'.

Gee thanks, I didn't realise I'd be casting aspersions on mum and dad's parenting unless I paid for it all myself.

But what if your date wanted to split the bill?

"What do you mean I wasn't 'raised right' because I wanted you to pay your way?" (Getty Stock Photo)

Well, Nelly continued to say: "By that [dating out of their price range] I mean you're taking a girl out on a date you can't afford to do, so instead of trying to flex on a nice dinner, you're better off taking her on a picnic in the park.

"And even the most progressive girls who insist they split it with you and say they don't mind... do mind.

"Not because they can't afford it, but because it shows us your character and if you're a girl and you've paid for first dates, I want to tell you that he ain't it sis."

As you can guess this generated quite the response, with some people saying they'd rather pay their own way on a date as a matter of principle, while others thought that whomever invited the other person on a date ought to pay.

Dating is complicated enough without all these secret tests of character thrown in.

Additional words by Tom Wood.