A single woman found herself in a horrible situation after discovering that the man she had set up a Tinder meeting with had recently become engaged.
Kimberly Anne, of Palm Beach County, Florida, had been conversing with her match all evening before their scheduled meeting, both revealing that they were ‘searching for someone special.’
However, the 31-year-old legal expert was taken aback when she recognised him on her Facebook suggested friend list. He wasn’t only in a relationship, but he and his other half had just announced their engagement a month ago.
Kimberly elaborated:
He sent me a Whatsapp message, and when I inquired why he didn’t just send me a regular text, he simply shifted the subject. When I started scrolling through Facebook, it suggested friends, and I immediately recognised him from his profile photo.
I decided to have a look, and the first thing that caught my eye was the fact that he was in a relationship. I went on her profile, hoping it was old, and the first post was a one-month-old engagement announcement.
My initial reaction was pure shock; I couldn’t believe what I was seeing – I was really taken aback. I wasn’t emotionally invested in her yet, but I was furious that he would do this to her.
When she told her would-be date about the disturbing discovery, he flatly denied being the man suggested by her friend, dismissing her fears with the phrase “wrong person honey.”
However, after comparing photos from Tinder and Facebook, Kimberly was confident she’d caught him red-handed thanks to a distinguishing tattoo on the man’s bicep.
Kimberly explained:
I went back through his Facebook photos and compared a tattoo on his arm to the photos on his Tinder profile, and it was the same tattoo, so I informed him.
I just wanted her [his fiancée] to tell me if the tables were turned. In these instances, I believe women must support one another — we must have one other’s backs.
After that, Kimberly had to make the difficult decision to tell the man’s fiancée.
Kimberly used Facebook Messenger to show her fiancée the damning texts she had had with the man.
Kimberly claims that:
Because I didn’t know how she would react, my entire body was trembling as I sent these texts. I felt so bad and partially responsible that I was afraid I was going to shatter this woman’s heart.
I said, “Do whatever you want with this information,” because if it was me, I’d want to know. ‘It’s fine, it’s not your fault,’ she simply stated.
Because I was worried of a backlash, I blocked him and unmatched with him on Tinder. I didn’t want to be hounded by him, so I blocked him and unmatched with him.
Kimberly hasn’t heard from the couple since the incident, but she believes they are still engaged, as their relationship status and engagement announcement remain online.
Kimberly explained, “Her response was so calm and mild that I’m not sure if she was in shock or if this was something she’d seen before and wasn’t startled by.” I’m worried she’s decided to forgive him, but that’s her decision to make if she so desires.
Personally, I would have called it off right away, but she may have been more understanding than I would have been. Later that day, I checked his profile and noticed that he had changed his profile photo to a picture of him and his fiancée hugging.
Perhaps he was implying that it wouldn’t happen again by declaring his undying love for her to everyone.
Kimberly was’saddened’ by the number of stories she heard from other women who had suffered similar situations when she shared her story on Facebook.
One woman said she dated a man for over a year before discovering he had been dating someone else for three years. Another discovered that her Tinder match was a married father of three children.
Kimberly explained:
I’d like to assume that this isn’t a typical occurrence. I’ve been single for eight months and want to find my special someone — I want this to be my last relationship.
Going forward, I’ll have to be extremely careful about what questions I ask and how they answer them, as well as continue to see if I can uncover anything about them online before I become too attached.
Let’s hope Kimberly has a better time with her next match.
